- The prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that the accusations against a former militia commander from the Central African Republic (CAR) had been dropped by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) because there was no chance of a conviction.
- Prior to this, prosecutors said that Maxime Mokom, a former national organizer of militias dubbed anti-balaka, was a major player in a plot to attack Muslim civilians with violence in 2013 and 2014.
- On Thursday, the International Criminal Court declared that Maxime Mokom’s charges had been withdrawn. Mokom was accused with crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Central African Republic.
- The anti-balaka, a coalition of Christian military organizations in the Central African Republic, is said to have attacked Muslim people in retaliation. Mokom was the purported former national coordinator of operations for this group.
- In 2018, he was accused of planning assaults on civilians, as well as committing murder, rape, deportation, and forced relocation, all of which are classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.
- On October 16, the prosecutor made the decision to drop the charges, stating that there are no longer any realistic chances of conviction at trial “even if the charges were confirmed” due to “changed circumstances regarding the availability of witnesses.”
- Karim A. A. Khan, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, stated in a statement: “We must be steadfast in our resolve to only move forward with cases that provide a reasonable chance of conviction. At every level of the process, my office will make every effort to guarantee that the cases’ viability is consistently and thoroughly evaluated in light of the available evidence.”
- He stated that he was “very conscious that this news may be unwelcome to many survivors and their families.” He expressed his hope that a large number of people would realize he has moral and legal obligations to follow the law and the evidence.
Source:
UPI
