ICC Prosecutor Issues a Statement on Opening a Preliminary Examination into the Situation in Burundi

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Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has released a statement about her decision to open a preliminary examination into the situation in Burundi that has been ongoing since April 2015.

The Prosecutor states that since April last year over 430 people have reportedly been killed, at least 3,400 arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Furthermore, Bensouda reveals that a number of communications and reports have been reviewed by her office that apparently detail acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as cases of enforced disappearances. All such instances appear to fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

“Since April 2015, I have closely followed the situation in Burundi and repeatedly called upon all involved to refrain from violence, warning that those alleged to be committing crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) could be held individually accountable,” said Bensouda within the statement.

Click below for further details:

https://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/press%20and%20media/press%20releases/Pages/otp-stat-25-04-2016.aspx

And to view the statement itself, click the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu4Ni4DW-Nk&feature=youtu.be

Image source: www.eac.int

Text source: www.icc-cpi.int (25th April 2016)

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