When Jean-Pierre Bemba, a rich and powerful Congolese politician, visited his family in Brussels in late May, he had no inkling that he would be grabbed by the Belgian police, thrown in prison and end up before an international tribunal. His arrest warrant had been kept secret by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. On Friday, Bemba, a former vice-president and still a sitting senator of the Congo, made his first appearance in court. He has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, linked to a 2002-2003 campaign his forces carried out in the neighboring Central African Republic. During the short hearing in court Friday, Bemba was not asked to enter a plea, but he has denied the charges. He waved to his wife in the public gallery and was asked by the court only to confirm his identity and the conditions...
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