Public hearing on 29 June 2009 to examine Jean-Pierre Bemba’s detention

ICC-CPI-20090624-MA42

Situation: Central African Republic
Case: The Prosecutor v. Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo

Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court will hold a public hearing, on Monday 29 June 2009 at 14:00, in order to listen to the parties before deciding on Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba's pre-trial detention, as provided by the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

Pursuant to the rule 118(3), a hearing on the pre-trial detention of the accused must be held “at least once every year”. With respect to Mr Bemba, the one-year period referred to in rule 118(3) will expire on 3 July 2009.

The decision of the judges will be given at a later stage after the hearing.

Practical information

All journalists or other persons wishing to attend this status conference are welcome. No confirmation is required.

The courtroom proceedings can be followed on the ICC website at:
Courtroom I:

• English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc1.asx
• French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc2.asx

Please note there will be a 30-minute delay in transmission.

N.B. All hours noted refer to local time in The Hague.

Media Centre

For journalists wishing to use the Court’s media facilities, the media centre will open from 08:30 until one hour after the end of the proceedings, from Monday to Friday.

The area can seat up to 64 people and includes: plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi installation in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with internet access; 7 telephones for internal calls only, are free of charge.
For external use, journalists are advised to purchase beforehand 0800 pre-paid phone cards available at newsagents and train stations. Please note that phone cards cannot be obtained in the vicinity of, or at the ICC.

For further information please contact Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8089 or (0)6 46 44 87 26 or at sonia.robla@icc-cpi.int