The International Criminal Court in The Hague-Netherlands

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Suspected Central African Republic war criminal Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka was surrendered to the International Criminal Court Monday  by the authorities of the Republic of Chad. The former CAR militia leader was handed over to the ICC on account of a warrant of arrest by The Hague-based war tribunal.  Mokom is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Bangui and other locations in the CAR  in 2013 and 2014.  The ICC said that when issuing the warrant of arrest,  its Pre-Trial Chamber II found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that an armed conflict not of an international character was ongoing on the territory of the CAR from at least September 2013 until at least December 2014 between the Seleka – a coalition of armed groups predominantly composed of Muslims opposed to former president François Bozizé – and the Anti-Balaka – a movement opposed to the Seleka and supportive of former president Bozizé.   The ICC said  the Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that, from at least September 2013 until at least December 2014, an attack was conducted by the Anti-Balaka against the Muslim civilian population and those perceived as collectively responsible for, complicit with or supportive of the Seleka, pursuant to or in furtherance of an organisational policy to target primarily the Muslim population in Bangui and other prefectures. 

The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Mokom, a national of the Central African Republic, born on 30 December 1978 in Bangui, was a National Coordinator of Operations of the Anti-Balaka and, in this capacity, he is suspected of being responsible for the following crimes:

• Crimes against humanity consisting in (attempted) murder, extermination, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts

• War crimes consisting in (attempted) murder, torture, cruel treatment, mutilation, intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population, intentionally directing an attack against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance, intentionally directing an attack against buildings dedicated to religion, pillaging, enlistment of children under the age of 15 years and their use to participate actively in hostilities, displacement of the civilian population and destroying or seizing the property of an adversary.

Mokom is suspected of having committed these crimes jointly with others and/or through others in furtherance of a policy to target the Muslim population and others perceived to support the Seleka or to be “foreigners” in Bangui and in western CAR; or aided, abetted or otherwise assisted in the commission or attempted commission of these crimes, according to the ICC.

The ICC Registrar,  Peter Lewis, thanked the authorities of the Republic of Chad and of the host State, The Netherlands, for their cooperation in the arrest and surrender of  Mokom to the Court.

The initial appearance of Mokom before the Pre-Trial Chamber II, composed of Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala, Judge Antoine Kesia‐Mbe Mindua and Judge Tomoko Akane, will take place in due course, the ICC said.