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Bemba's bail request rejected

Article published on the 2008-05-28 Latest update 2008-05-29 18:13 TU

Jean-Pierre Bemba(Photo: AFP)

Jean-Pierre Bemba
(Photo: AFP)

A Belgium court ruled Wednesday to keep the former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean Pierre Bemba, in detention after his arrest last Saturday. Bemba had asked to be released on bail after he was arrested in Brussels on an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Bemba is accused by the ICC of leading Congolese rebels who waged a campaign of rape and torture in Central African Republic in 2002 to 2003. He denies the charges. 

Meanwhile in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one thousand Bemba supporters took to the streets of Kinshasa on Tuesday, asking for the release of their leader.

Bemba's arrest will have a significant impact on the country's politics, according to Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher on the DR Congo at Human Rights Watch in London.

Jean-Pierre Bemba's arrest expected to have a significant political impact

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28/05/2008 by Charles Haskins