Former ICC prosecutor Ocampo speaks out on leaked emails

Former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has dismissed recent claims that he interfered with ongoing cases at the Hague, after he left office.

In a written statement, published on Journalists for Justice website, Mr Ocampo said he has been the target of a cyber-attack by an unknown secret agency.

Since July, Mr Ocampo’s integrity has been put into question after a French investigative website Mediapartobtained over 40,000 documents which linked him to meddling with some cases.

'CYBER BULLYING'

Mr Ocampo who is currently in private practice, said that he was a victim of ‘cyber bullying’ by a secret agency that was using journalists as a weapon of choice to taint him and the court.

“It is a campaign of character assassination aiming to infect the entire Court and its officers. I should not transform it into a personal battle,” said the former ICC prosecutor.

The leaked documents which according to Mr Ocampo were illegally obtained also revealed that he played behind the scenes in the failure to bring justice to thousands who died in Kenyan political violence in 2007.

It is said that Mr Ocampo advised Sara Criscitelli one of the lawyers to denounce Kenya’s lack of cooperation and request a postponement of the case.

However, in his statement Mr Ocampo said that he feels so sad for victims who had gained his trust that he would eventually ensure that they get justice.

“I felt so sad for victims who trusted us, like a woman in Kenya who lost everything and had hopes in our intervention,” he said.

According to Mr Ocampo, he was very willing to cooperate with journalists but they later failed to stand by the truth.

“The journalist twisted my comments and ignored the truth. Since then, I decided not to legitimize any of their questions by answering them. I should not be part of a campaign aimed at denigrating the Court,” he said.

CRITICISMS

The former prosecutor said that since he started his career he has lived being critiqued even by his own relatives.

He said that at times his decisions were strongly criticised by people with different opinions.

Mr Ocampo revealed that when he requested an arrest warrant for the African most wanted man, Joseph Kony it was considered as a threat to an ongoing peace process.

“We were criticized for being slow to investigate in Darfur, Sudan, and very fast in the Muammar Gaddafi case. The criticism could come from different fronts and truth is becoming irrelevant, perception is what matters,” he said.

“Been publicly criticised is part of my professional career and I tried to respect the opinion of those who disrespected me,” he added.

BENSOUDA

Mr Ocampo asked the world to ignore the campaign against him as it was only aimed at diverting attention from the real problems.

He lauded Ms Bensouda for developing new ways to prove cases using cyber evidence.

“She obtained the surrender of suspects; and in one case his admission of guilt; the judges are establishing a solid jurisprudence; and the Registry is fulfilling its complex duties,” he said.

He said that the ‘War on Terror’ was affecting the goal of the Rome Statute as he cited the Kenyan case.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention in Somalia consolidated his international support,” he said, adding that it became a barrier in finding justice for post-election violence victims.