DR CONGO: ICC gives Jean-Pierre Bemba extra year in prison

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have added a year to Jean-Pierre Bemba’s 18-year jail term following the former Congolese vice president’s conviction for attempting to bribe witnesses during his war crimes trial. After a second trial on the separate charges, Bemba on Wednesday was also ordered to pay a $323,670 fine to the […]

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have added a year to Jean-Pierre Bemba’s 18-year jail term following the former Congolese vice president’s conviction for attempting to bribe witnesses during his war crimes trial.
After a second trial on the separate charges, Bemba on Wednesday was also ordered to pay a $323,670 fine to the court’s fund supporting victims of atrocities.
Bemba was found guilty last year of bribery, and the verdict and sentence are the first of their kind in the history of the ICC.
“The chamber imposes on you an additional 12 months, one-year, imprisonment,” presiding judge Bertram Schmitt told Bemba, adding a “substantial fine” was necessary “to discourage this kind of behaviour”.
Several of the court’s cases against prominent and powerful politicians have been weakened by witness bribery.