ICC / CALLIXTE MBARUSHIMANA

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today (30 May) dismissed the Prosecution's appeal against the decision to drop war crimes charges against a Rwandan rebel leader for his alleged role in deadly fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009.

The unanimous decision by the Appeals Chamber comes more than five months after the Pre-Trial Chamber decided not to confirm the charges against Callixte Mbarushimana, who in the 1990s was employed by the United Nations. On 16 December 2011, the ICC ordered that he be released from the custody of the Court.

SOUNDBITE (English) Erkki Kourula, Presiding Judge:
“The decision on the confirmation of charges of 16 of December of 2011 is confirmed. The appeal is dismissed.”

Shortly after today’s ruling, the Office of the ICC Prosecutor issued a statement saying that it would examine whether it would be able to bring a new case against Mbarushimana presenting additional evidence.

Mbarushimana, the head of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (known by their French acronym FDLR), was accused of murder, torture, rape, attacks against civilians, the destruction of property, inhuman treatment and persecution. FDLR forces fought against DRC Government forces, Rwandan Government forces and UN peacekeepers in North Kivu and South Kivu throughout 2009.

In the decision handed down last December, ICC judges said there were substantial grounds to believe FDLR soldiers had committed several war crimes in various villages during that period. However, they added that, while acts amounting to war crimes were likely to have been committed on five of the 25 occasions outlined by prosecutors, there was not enough evidence to show that such acts were part of a course of conduct equaling “an attack directed against the civilian population,” as defined under the law for crimes against humanity. They further found that Mbarushimana did not provide any contribution to the commission of the alleged crimes.