On the Foreign Scene

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ordered the release of former Democratic Republic of Congo rebel leader and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Last week, appeal judges overturned his 2016 conviction on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity

"He sent his fighters into the neighboring CAR in October 2002 to help put down an attempted coup against then president Ange-Felix Patasse. That move sparked a months-long campaign of horrific abuses by MLC troops against the civilian population — which would become the basis of the charges that would be laid against him in The Hague"

Human rights group Amnesty International said his acquittal was a "huge blow" for the victims of a "horrifying campaign of rape and sexual violence".