Amsterdam - The former vice president of Congo, Jean-Pierre
Bemba Gombo, is seeking 68 million euros ($76 million) in
damages from the International Criminal Court, his lawyers said on
Monday.
Bemba was acquitted on appeal last year. He has requested the amount
from the court in The Hague as compensation for his 10 years in
detention, his legal fees as well as actual losses, they said.
Bemba was originally arrested in Belgium in 2008 and charged with
murder, rape and pillaging in the Central African Republic during his
role as the supreme commander of rebel forces in a 2002-03 coup.
He pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2016
after being convicted of all charges because the court held that he
knew his troops were committing or about to commit crimes and he did
not deter or punish them.
Two years later, the court overturned his convictions, citing grave
procedural errors.