Ex-Congolese’ Vice President Seeks $75Million in Damages from ICC

Former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba is seeking nearly $75 million in damages following his acquittal of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Reuters news agency reports lawyers of the 56-year-old to have said on Monday that paperwork had been filed requesting compensation for unlawful detention, legal fees and losses due to the alleged mismanagement of assets seized by the court.

The assets included seven airplanes, three villas in Portugal, three parcels of land in the Democratic Republic of Congo and two boats, his lawyer Peter Haynes said.

Haynes said that while his client was in detention for 10 years at The Hague, his assets “were simply allowed to rot.”

The claim totals nearly half of the ICC’s annual budget which is nearly $170 million. No date has however been set for when the filing would be considered.

The ICC acquitted Bemba of war crimes in May 2018.

Bemba’s legal team said in the event the court awarded damages, part would go toward paying reparation for war victims.

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