Fatou Bensouda, victims oppose Uhuru Kenyatta’s video link request
ICC judges arrive in court for the start of a previous session. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
- The legal representative of the victims told the ICC that victims overwhelmingly opposed the request.
- The lawyer said the victims were aware that people accused of far less serious crimes than Mr Kenyatta were required to be physically present in courtrooms in Kenya.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has opposed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s application to be excused from attending the Status Conference next week.
The request by the President to be allowed to use a video link instead of attending the conference in person at The Hague has also been met with opposition from victims of the 2007/8 post-election violence.
Mr Kenyatta requested the Trial Chamber to excuse his attendance at the conference on October 8. He also wants the hearing adjourned.
The legal representative of the victims told the ICC that victims overwhelmingly opposed the request.
The lawyer said the victims were aware that people accused of far less serious crimes than Mr Kenyatta were required to be physically present in courtrooms in Kenya.
“The presence of the accused in the courtroom is an integral part of the victims’ perception of a fair trial and of their belief that justice is being done,” said Fergal Gaynor, the common legal representative of the victims.
The lawyer said the fact that Mr Kenyatta had not appeared in person in an ICC courtroom for three years, and therefore seemed to be benefiting from unusually favourable treatment, had a negative impact on the victims’ perception of the trial.
He added that Mr Kenyatta contested for elections fully aware that he would appear in person at the ICC, irrespective of the outcome.
“It is submitted that no accused, regardless of his status, should be permitted to rely on circumstances which he has knowingly, voluntarily and deliberately brought into being,” he said.
