People detained by the International Criminal Court
Encyclopedia
People detained by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) are held in the ICC's detention centre, which is located within a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague
. The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide
, crimes against humanity
, war crime
s, and the crime of aggression. As of November 2011, it has issued public arrest warrant
s for 18 individuals, six of whom are currently in custody of the court.
The ICC detention centre is for holding people who have been charged with crimes, not for imprisoning convicted criminals. As such, all detainees are considered innocent until their guilt has been proven. Upon conviction by the ICC, criminals are transferred outside the Netherlands to serve their sentences.
are held in the same prison and share some facilities, like the fitness room, but have no contact with suspects held by the ICC.
The ICC registrar is responsible for managing the detention centre. The rules governing detainment are contained in Chapter 6 of the Regulations of the Court and Chapter 5 of the Regulations of the Registry. The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) has unrestricted access to the detention centre.
and are offered training with a physical education
instructor.
Detainees are provided with meals, but they may also cook for themselves, purchase food from the prison shop, and have ingredients ordered in. However, Charles Taylor's lawyers have complained that "the food which is served is completely eurocentric and not palatable to the African palate".
Each detainee has a personal computer
in his cell, on which he can view material related to their case. They are offered computer training, if required, and language courses.
, who arrived at the detention centre on March 17, 2006.
As of November 2011, the detention centre houses seven suspects, including former Liberia
n President Charles Taylor. Taylor is being tried under the mandate and auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
, but his trial is being held at the ICC's facilities in The Hague because of political and security concerns about holding the trial in Freetown
.
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
(ICC) are held in the ICC's detention centre, which is located within a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, crimes against humanity
Crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
, war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s, and the crime of aggression. As of November 2011, it has issued public arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
s for 18 individuals, six of whom are currently in custody of the court.
The ICC detention centre is for holding people who have been charged with crimes, not for imprisoning convicted criminals. As such, all detainees are considered innocent until their guilt has been proven. Upon conviction by the ICC, criminals are transferred outside the Netherlands to serve their sentences.
Detention centre
The ICC currently has twelve detention cells in a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague. Suspects held by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
are held in the same prison and share some facilities, like the fitness room, but have no contact with suspects held by the ICC.
The ICC registrar is responsible for managing the detention centre. The rules governing detainment are contained in Chapter 6 of the Regulations of the Court and Chapter 5 of the Regulations of the Registry. The International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) has unrestricted access to the detention centre.
Facilities
Each individual has his own toilet and washing area. They have access to a small gymGym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and are offered training with a physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
instructor.
Detainees are provided with meals, but they may also cook for themselves, purchase food from the prison shop, and have ingredients ordered in. However, Charles Taylor's lawyers have complained that "the food which is served is completely eurocentric and not palatable to the African palate".
Each detainee has a personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
in his cell, on which he can view material related to their case. They are offered computer training, if required, and language courses.
Detainees' rights
Detainees are allowed to communicate in private with their defence teams and diplomatic representatives of their countries of origin. They are permitted visits from family members, wives and partners, and spiritual advisors.List of detainees
The following table lists all the people who have been held at the ICC detention centre since it was established in 2006. The first person ever detained by the court was Thomas LubangaThomas Lubanga
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is a former rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots and was a key player in the Ituri conflict...
, who arrived at the detention centre on March 17, 2006.
As of November 2011, the detention centre houses seven suspects, including former Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n President Charles Taylor. Taylor is being tried under the mandate and auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an independent judicial body set up to "try those who bear greatest responsibility" for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War...
, but his trial is being held at the ICC's facilities in The Hague because of political and security concerns about holding the trial in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
.
| Name | Arrived | Departed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lubanga Thomas Lubanga Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is a former rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots and was a key player in the Ituri conflict... |
March 17, 2006 | ||
| Charles Taylor | June 20, 2006 | Tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone Special Court for Sierra Leone The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an independent judicial body set up to "try those who bear greatest responsibility" for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War... but detained at the ICC detention centre. |
|
| Germain Katanga Germain Katanga Germain Katanga , also known as Simba, is a former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri . On 17 October 2007, the Congolese authorities surrendered him to the International Criminal Court to stand trial on six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity... |
October 17, 2007 | ||
| Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui | February 7, 2008 | ||
| Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2006. Bemba also leads the Movement for the Liberation of Congo , a rebel group... |
July 3, 2008 | ||
| Callixte Mbarushimana Callixte Mbarushimana ****Callixte Mbarushimana is a Hutu Rwandan and former United Nations employee who is alleged to have participated in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, and who later on was indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in the... |
January 25, 2011 | ||
| Laurent Gbagbo Laurent Gbagbo Laurent Koudou Gbagbo served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist.... |
November 30, 2011 |