Congo opposition leader Bemba expected back home in July

Friday June 22 2018

The former vice-president had been sentenced to 18 years for war crimes in CAR.

By REUTERS

IN SUMMARY

The former vice-president had been sentenced to 18 years for war crimes in CAR.
In 2016, the ICC's judges unanimously found Bemba guilty on five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for abuses committed by his troops.
The trial was the first before the ICC to focus on sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose war crimes convictions were quashed last month, is expected to return to Congo next month for a party congress to select a candidate for December’s presidential vote, a party spokesman said on Friday.

Bemba, a former rebel leader and vice president, left Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007 and spent the last 10 years in prison in The Hague.

He is currently free in Belgium pending a hearing on a separate conviction for witness tampering.