Judges Sylvia Steiner (presiding), Joyce Aluoch, and Kuniko Ozaki have also approved the order of appearance for the five witnesses expected to testify next for the Congolese opposition leader. The first of these witnesses was expected to start giving evidence on Tuesday, May 21. However, hearings have now been cancelled until Friday, May 24. Since the start of the defense case last August, 19 witnesses have testified.

Earlier in the month, defense lawyers Aimé Kilolo-Musamba and Peter Haynes filed a request to reduce from 63 to 50, the number of witnesses they intended to call. According to the lawyers, they were unable to secure the appearance of 13 individuals before the court due to uncooperative authorities in three unnamed countries.

The defense proposed to call the following witnesses: ‘Witness D04-13,’ ‘Witness D04-18,’ ‘Witness D04-04,’ ‘Witness D04-03,’ and ‘Witness D04-02′ over the coming weeks.

In their May 15 ruling, the judges approved the defense’s proposal and ordered Mr. Bemba’s lawyers to liaise with the court’s Victims and Witnesses Unit (VWU) to ensure the appearance of the five witnesses. ‘Witness D04-13’ is scheduled to be the first of the five witnesses to testify.

Mr. Bemba is faced with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the court based in The Hague. He denies prosecution allegations that he failed to discipline his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers, who allegedly committed mass rapes, killings, and plunder in the Central African Republic during 2002 and 2003.

In a May 10, 2013 submission to judges, lawyers Aimé Kilolo-Musamba and Peter Haynes said because of uncooperative authorities in three unnamed countries, they were unable to secure the appearance of some witnesses before the court.

Most of the remaining witnesses resided in “Country 1″ that required government authorization for them to testify. While applications for the required authorizations had been made, the lawyers said “cooperation with these requests has been painfully slow or non-existent.”

A second group of witnesses based in “Country 2” was unable to travel to the seat of the court for undisclosed reasons. Although the court’s Registry was arranging for these witnesses to testify via video link, defense lawyers said “no concrete plan or arrangement” was in place yet.

Meanwhile, in a third country where the remainder of the witnesses are based, arrangements and negotiations required to establish a video link facility were yet to be finalized. At least four weeks were required before video link testimony by these witnesses could commence.

Mr. Bemba has been on trial at the court based in The Hague since November 2010.  Prosecutors charge that he failed to control his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers, who allegedly committed rape, murder, and pillaging between October 2002 and March 2003. The crimes were allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR), where the troops had gone to help then president Ange-Félix Patassé fight off a rebellion.

The prosecution presented its case over a period of 16 months, during which it called 40 witnesses. The first defense witness appeared last August and to-date, 19 witnesses have testified for the accused.

Mr. Bemba’s lawyers have repeatedly expressed their frustration at the unavailability of defense witnesses to give testimony, which has often stalled hearings. Most of the MLC soldiers who fought in the 2002-2003 conflict were integrated into the Congolese national army, in which many are still serving, some at senior level. Such soldiers would require authorization in order to travel out of Congo or to testify remotely. This authorization may not be easy to secure given that Mr. Bemba remains the leader of the opposition to Congolese president Joseph Kabila.

Furthermore, several soldiers from the Central African armed forces, who fought alongside the Bemba troops, are still in the service of their country or went into exile when Mr. Patassé was ousted in March 2003. Besides, the country has been in upheaval since François Bozizé, who became president in 2003, was deposed by rebels and fled to Cameroon two months ago.

The defense has accordingly notified the chamber of its intention not to call the following witnesses: ‘Witness D04-40,’ ‘Witness D04-63,’ ‘Witness D04-67,’ ‘Witness D05-46,’ and ‘Witness D04-61.’ Others are ‘Witness D04-12,’ ‘Witness D04-62,’ ‘Witness D04-20,’ ‘Witness D04-43,’ ‘Witness D042,’ ‘Witness D04-47,’ ‘Witness D04-28,’ and ‘Witness D04-23.’

Dropping these witnesses would help with “streamlining the evidence and allowing the defense to conclude its presentation of evidence in the most expeditious manner possible.” However, the defense lawyers stated that they reserved the right to add witnesses to the list of those dropped, depending on the progress made with the three countries.

Judges are yet to pronounce themselves on the defense’s submission. Meanwhile, hearings in the trial are scheduled to resume on Monday, May 20, 2013.

Testifying under the court-given name ‘Witness D04-56,’ the former fighter in General François Bozizé’s rebellion (which led to a capture of state power in March 2003), said he regretted that there were many unreported crimes committed by rebels in their drive to gain state power.

The witness, who has been testifying at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since last Tuesday, has told the court that he and his colleagues in the Bozizé rebellion brutalized civilians during the armed conflict in which Mr. Bemba’s forces fought on the side of then Central African president Ange-Félix Patassé. He said the rebels committed rape, murder, and looting, crimes he claimed prosecutors at the ICC had wrongly blamed on Mr. Bemba’s forces.

The witness, who described himself as a Central African national of Congolese origin, said he was not aware of any crimes committed by forces belonging to the accused’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC).

‘Witness D04-56′, the nineteenth individual to testify for Mr. Bemba, has told the court that the Bozizé rebels committed acts of violence against civilians, including in towns occupied by the accused’s troops. He said the fighters, comprised of defectors from the national army, Chadian nationals, and other local recruits, spoke the Congolese language of Lingala as they perpetrated these crimes.

During re-direct questioning today, defense lawyer Peter Haynes presented to court a February 2003 report from the French press agency AFP, quoting residents of the towns of Bozoum and Sibut recounting brutal crimes, including rapes and torture, allegedly suffered at the hands of the Bozizé rebels. According to the report, the residents were “very happy” to be liberated by government forces with the support of the Bemba troops.

“It is the truth,” the witness said of the remarks by individuals interviewed by AFP. He said he and his colleagues did all the things that were reported by the news agency. “I feel bad about what happened. Many other cases [of rebel crimes] were not reported on,” he said.

Mr. Bemba, the MLC commander-in-chief, is on trial for allegedly failing to control his troops, who prosecutors claim perpetrated rape, murder and pillaging during their five months deployment in the conflict country. He denies the charges.

The testimony by ‘Witness D04-56′ has been heard via video link from an unknown location. In addition to his image and voice being distorted during public broadcasts, some of his evidence has been heard in closed session in order to protect his identity.

Before adjourning the hearing this evening, after ‘Witness D04-56′ completed his testimony, presiding judge Sylvia Steiner said the date for the next hearing would be communicated in due course.

“The crimes were committed by the rebel fighters while they were there, and they continued to commit crimes even after our departure,” stated ‘Witness D04-56,’ who served as a soldier in the Bozizé-led rebellion.

He said the rebels occupied various towns between October 25, 2002 and November 3, 2002, then the Central African army, with the support of Mr. Bemba’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) troops, took control of the towns.

However, prosecuting lawyer Thomas Bifwoli wondered how rebel soldiers would have risked their lives to return to an area controlled by their opponents in order to commit crimes.

“When a soldier loots and commits abuses, it is during a lull in fighting,” responded the witness. “Others can do this during the night after disguising themselves.”

‘Witness D04-56’ was testifying in Mr. Bemba’s trial at the ICC for the third day. He has previously told the court that undisciplined Bozizé rebels committed rape, murder, and pillaging, and that during these marauding operations, they spoke the Congolese language Lingala. The witness is testifying via video link from an unknown location and was granted protective measures in order to conceal his identity.

Mr. Bemba, a former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has denied that he had effective command and control over his troops whom prosecutors charge committed rapes, murder and pillaging during their deployment in the neighboring country. He says it was Central African authorities who commanded his troops deployed in the conflict. Moreover, he argues that any other armed groups that were active in the conflict could have committed the alleged crimes.

Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner also posed a question to the witness. “We have heard testimony in this court that the population of Damara were supporters of Bozizé and yet you say that the rebels committed crimes against them?” asked the judge.

The witness replied: “Each time this town was attacked [by the rebels], the people would flee. I can’t say that the people there were in favor of one side or against one side. They had no choice.”

Mr. Bifwoli presented to court a transcript of a February 2003 audio report by Radio France International (RFI), in which a journalist stated that Mr. Bemba’s soldiers were committing crimes in Damara and Sibut towns after driving out the rebels. Eyewitnesses interviewed by the journalist described the Bozizé fighters as welcoming and treating civilians “like brothers.” On the other hand, the MLC were described as “perpetrators of massacres.”

Mr. Bifwoli asked why the witnesses interviewed by RFI were able to distinguish between Bozizé’s forces and the Congolese fighters, and to attribute the crimes to the latter. The witness replied that perhaps there may have been “confusion” on the part of the witnesses as to the identity of the perpetrators of the crimes. He maintained that his testimony related to events that he witnessed and sometimes took part in.

‘Witness D04-56’ continues his testimony on Monday morning.

“The Bozizé rebel crimes were committed in my presence, and I took part in them,” said the former soldier, testifying for the second day on behalf of Mr. Bemba in the trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yesterday, this witness testified that his colleagues committed rape, murder, and pillaging in numerous towns.

During cross-examination, prosecuting lawyer Thomas Bifwoli put it to ‘Witness D04-56′ that on November 2, 2002, the suburb of PK 12 in the country’s capital was under the joint control of government forces and Mr. Bemba’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers. How could rebels have committed crimes in that suburb after they had been driven out?

“If someone is stealing or perpetuating an abuse, that person doesn’t take into account the presence of other people. He knows how to go about it and go away,” responded the witness.

“So it is your testimony that the Bozizé rebels continued to commit crimes in the areas that were under MLC control?” asked Mr. Bifwoli.

The former fighter replied, “There were insubordinate soldiers who were coming back.”

Mr. Bemba denies that it was his soldiers who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity over which he is on trial. He also contends that command over his troops deployed in the conflict rested with Central African authorities and not him.

‘Witness D04-56′ is a Central African national of Congolese descent. He said he served in the Central African armed forces (FACA) before joining the Bozizé rebellion that started in October 2002 and culminated in the capture of power in March 2003. Mr. Bozizé served as president of the CAR until March this year, when he was deposed by insurgents.

Meanwhile, the witness also testified that the Bozizé rebels spoke the Congolese language Lingala while perpetrating crimes because they had noticed that it instilled fear in the civilian population.

“When I spoke Lingala for the first time, I saw the fear. It enabled me to continue committing crimes,” he said, without explaining why the language aroused fear among civilians.

He said the use of Lingala was not aimed at prejudicing other forces active in the conflict, such as Mr. Bemba’s group. “The idea was to confuse people so that they wouldn’t identify us,” he said.

Hearings resume on Friday morning.

Testifying under the court-given name ‘Witness D04-56,’ he told judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that his colleagues committed rape, murder, and pillaging, and that during these marauding operations, they spoke the Congolese language Lingala.

“We would take money, shoes, clothing, TV sets, and such things, commit rape and kill people,” he said.

Defense lawyer Peter Haynes asked what languages the rebels spoke among themselves. French, Lingala, and the Central African dialect Sango, replied the witness.

Explaining the use of Lingala, the former Bozizé fighter said, “We used that language to commit those crimes because whenever we used it, the people of the CAR were ready to give up and comply much more easily.”

The witness said the crimes he testified about were committed in various towns including Damara, Boy-Rabé, Sibut, PK12, and Fu between October 2002, when the rebels initially attempted to grab power, and March 2003, when they captured the capital Bangui.

Mr. Bemba has been on trial at the ICC since November 2010 over crimes his Movement for the Liberation of Congo soldiers are alleged to have committed during the Central African conflict. He denies it was his soldiers who committed the crimes, instead blaming other armed groups that took part in the fighting.

The Congolese troops were in the neighboring country at the behest of its then president, Ange-Félix Patassé, who was faced with a coup attempt led by Mr. Bozizé, his erstwhile army chief.

A number of prosecution witnesses testified that the soldiers who committed the crimes were Congolese. These witnesses said they could tell the nationality of the unruly soldiers because they spoke the Congolese language rather than Sango which Central African nationals would have used.

‘Witness D04-56’ started testifying in Mr Bemba’s trial this morning. Judges granted him protective measures including image and voice distortion during public broadcasts of his testimony, as well as frequent use of private session in order to protect his identity. He is testifying by way of video link.

He said the Bozizé rebels were poorly equipped and looting “wasn’t anything out of the ordinary” but a “generalized” method of operation. They did not wear uniforms and had limited food provisions. The few vehicles they used belonged to Chadian nationals who fought alongside them. The rebels would therefore take whatever they could from civilians, ‘Witness D04-56’ said.

Some of the stolen property was sold back to the population “so that we could earn some money in order to survive,” the witness said. “Others took their goods back to the rebel headquarters … we even tried to find little carts to put our booty on.”

‘Witness D04-56’ gave details of the rape and murder incidents in closed session. He did not say whether or not Mr. Bemba’s soldiers were involved in any criminal activity.

The witness said the rebel movement had neither training facilities nor a code of conduct on discipline and how to deal with the civilian population. He said the group comprised of an unnamed number of defectors from the national army and more than 500 recruits who were only given “accelerated training in weapons handling.”

Tomorrow morning, the prosecution will start cross-examining ‘Witness D04-56.’

At a status conference this morning, judges revealed that an upcoming witness, whose testimony was scheduled to commence this week, had expressed fears for his security if he were to testify via video link from his current location.

Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner said failure by ‘Witness D04-56’ to testify had “effectively paralyzed the proceedings since no other witness is available to appear before the chamber in the near future.”

Judge Seiner said in order to revisit the decision to hear testimony by this witness via video link, the defense must provide new and compelling reasons. Otherwise, judges might exclude him from the list of witnesses.

Defense lawyer Aime Kilolo-Musamba said the witness was “right” in fearing for his security if he testified via video link. This was because the leader of the country where the witness currently was based was a “very personal friend” to François Bozizé, the deposed leader of the Central African Republic (CAR).

He said ‘Witness D04-56’ was an important witness who was expected to name members of Mr. Bozizé’s former rebel group that perpetrated violent crimes “incorrectly attributed” to Mr. Bemba’s troops.

“The country of the witness’s current presence has a list of all defense witnesses. Members of Bozizé’s family are in the town where the witness is,” said Mr. Kilolo-Musamba. He added that a psychologist had concluded that ‘Witness D04-56’ would not be able to testify in a “comfortable manner and provide truth in its fullness” at the current location.

Last February, judges ruled that this witness should testify physically at the seat of the court in The Hague. Subsequently, the court’s Victims and Witnesses Unit (VWU) made arrangements for the witness to leave his country of residence and “transit” via another country in order to apply for a visa to travel to the Netherlands. On Wednesday last week, before the witness had applied for a visa to The Hague, judges ordered him to testify from the transit country via video link. The witness declined.

Mr. Bemba has been on trial at the ICC since November 2010. He has denied charges of murder, rape, and pillaging arising from crimes allegedly committed by his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers against Central African civilians during an armed conflict in 2002 and 2003.

Mr. Bemba’s defense started presenting its evidence on August 14, 2012 and has called eighteen of the 63 planned witnesses. Those who have so far testified include three experts, crime-based witnesses and former MLC insiders. Defense lawyers have previously reported difficulties in getting their witnesses to appear before the court. Uncooperative state authorities, fear of reprisal attacks, and the vulnerability of some witnesses, including those who could potentially incriminate themselves during testimony, were the main reasons the defense cited.

Regarding other upcoming witnesses, Marc Dubuisson, a representative of the court’s Registry, stated that they had reached immunity and privileges agreements for court officials with an unnamed country. Court officials would henceforth be able to assist defense witnesses based there to testify via video link. However, it would take at least four weeks’ preparations before video link testimony from this country could commence.

In another unnamed country hosting other defense witnesses lined up to testify, requisite authorizations and administration permissions were still pending. Among the difficulties faced by the court’s organs with this country was the lack of ground staff to operationalize cooperation agreements.

An ex parte status conference to be attended by the defense, the Registry and the VWU was scheduled to take place this afternoon for further discussions on the scheduling and appearance of witnesses.

An individual going by the court-given pseudonym ‘Witness D04-39,’ who was a member of the group the accused led, told judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it was the chief of staff of the Central African Republic (CAR) armed forces who had authority to order the arrest of soldiers who may have committed crimes.

“Did Bemba have any responsibility and authority regarding the discipline of MLC [Movement for the Liberation of Congo] troops in the CAR?” asked prosecuting lawyer Shkelzen Zeneli.

“The answer is no,” replied the witness. “Bemba was not commanding the units in the CAR, so he was not involved in the chain of command of those units.” As such, he added, Mr. Bemba did not have the authority to give orders to arrest a soldier on Central African soil.

The witness stated that the chain of command of the Congolese troops went from Mustafa Mukiza, who commanded operations of Mr. Bemba’s troops deployed in the neighboring country, to Andre Mazzi, that country’s chief of staff. It was General Mazzi who would have ordered arrests.

According to ‘Witness D04-39,’ Mr. Bemba only ordered the arrest of soldiers in the Congo. “His authority was not extraterritorial,” he said.

Asked if he had heard of crimes involving MLC soldiers, the witness responded that shortly after the troops withdrew from the conflict, “a few rumours were going about” regarding crimes allegedly committed by the troops. Radio France International (RFI) was among the sources of these reports.

The MLC was one of the armed groups active in the 2002–2003 Central African armed conflict. During this period, prosecutors charge that the Congolese troops brutalized civilians. As their commander-in-chief, Mr. Bemba is being charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for failing to rein them in. The former vice president of Congo has denied all five charges against him.

Today marked the completion of testimony for ‘Witness D04-39.’ No date has been set for when the next defense witness will begin testifying.

During cross-examination, prosecution lawyer Shkelzen Zeneli put it to ‘Witness D04-39’ that witness testimony indicated that Mr. Bemba, by means of radio and satellite phone, “bypassed the chain of command and reached out directly” to his commanders stationed in the CAR.

“I find that surprising,” responded the witness. He explained that it was possible Mr. Bemba could have maintained communication with his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) commanders in the conflict country but this would not have been to issue orders but “to ascertain soldiers’ morale.”

“When a unit is under operations command, it is cut off from its organic chain of command, and it answers the orders of the authority which assigns missions and gives orders to it,” stated the witness.

Mr. Zeneli presented communication logs from 2002 in which Mr. Bemba is indicated as transmitting a message to a commander of troops out in the field in Congo. The message reads in part, “Do not move. Be ready to move towards Mambasa.”

The prosecuting lawyer asked whether the message could be described as an order. The witness replied that it could not. He explained that for the message to have qualified as an operations order, it would have to say what time the troops should be ready to move, which units had to move, and by what means.

The witness said the message was giving instructions to the field commander “but without saying how to do so.”

“Do you think Mr. Bemba could have also done the same with the MLC commander in the CAR?” asked Mr. Zeneli.

“If he thought he had the necessary intelligence to give instructions or orders to the troops, Mustafa would never say no,” replied the witness, referring to Mustafa Mukiza, the head of the MLC contingent deployed into the conflict.

Mr. Bemba, a former vice president of Congo, is on trial for allegedly failing to control his soldiers who are accused of committing rapes, murders, and plunder during 2002 and 2003. He denies the charges, arguing that once his troops crossed into Central African territory, they were under the command of the country’s then president, Ange-Félix Patassé, who invited them to help him beat back a coup attempt.

In his testimony yesterday, ‘Witness D04-39′ stated that Mr. Bemba delegated command and control of his troops to Central African authorities because it would have been difficult for him to obtain intelligence information from the battlefield and react to it in a timely manner.

The witness is testifying via video link from an unknown location. He was granted protective measure, including image and voice distortion as well as the frequent use of private session in order to conceal his identity.

The prosecution continues its cross-examination tomorrow morning.

Testifying under the pseudonym ‘Witness D04-39,’ the witness claimed the decision to delegate was taken because it would have been difficult for Mr. Bemba to obtain intelligence information from the battlefield and react to it in a timely manner.

Besides the accused’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) forces, numerous other groups were involved in the military operations. As such, the witness said, it would have been difficult for Mr. Bemba – who was based in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo – to maintain command and control.

‘Witness D04-39′ is a former insider in the group the accused led. He is testifying in Mr. Bemba’s trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) via video link.

Prosecutors at the ICC claim that Mr. Bemba bears command responsibility for the rapes, murders, and pillaging allegedly committed by his troops who were among the forces that supported former Central African president Ange-Félix Patassé’s campaign against an armed insurrection.

“Did the MLC have the capacity to gather and process military intelligence in the process of ongoing operations in the CAR?” asked defense lawyer Aime Kilolo-Musamba.

“Capacity, yes,” responded the witness. “We did have officers who were capable and well trained to gather evidence. As for the possibility of doing so in the CAR, the answer is no.” He explained that Mr. Bemba did not send any intelligence officer to the neighboring country; all intelligence was managed by Central African authorities.

The witness stated that upon arrival in the conflict country, the Congolese troops received Central African military uniforms and were integrated into the national army. They received logistics from that country’s authorities, as it was difficult from the MLC to supply those units from its headquarters in Congo, due to the distance and limited means.

Other foreign forces involved in the conflict included Libyan soldiers, Community of Saharan-Sahel State (CEN-SAD) troops in support of Patassé’s forces, and Chadian nationals who fought alongside insurgents led by François Bozizé. Furthermore, there were several local ethnic militias and numerous army units active in the conflict. Mr. Bemba denies all five charges against him.

‘Witness D04-39’ continues his testimony tomorrow morning.