Initial appearance of Charles Blé Goudé scheduled for 27 March 2014
The initial appearance of Charles Blé Goudé before the single Judge of the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, is scheduled for Thursday 27 March 2014, at 10:00 (The Hague local time). Charles Blé Goudé was surrendered to the ICC by the national authorities of Côte d´Ivoire on 22 March 2014 following a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC on 21 December 2011.
During the initial appearance hearing, the single Judge will verify the identity of the suspect and the language in which he is able to follow the proceedings. He will be informed of the charges against him.
Background: On 30 September 2013, ICC Judges unsealed an arrest warrant against Charles Blé Goudé, initially issued on 21 December 2011. Charles Blé Goudé, national of Côte d’Ivoire, 42 years of age, allegedly bears individual criminal responsibility, as indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, and other inhuman acts, allegedly committed in the territory of Côte d’Ivoire between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011.
Further information on this case is available here.
Order convening a hearing for the first appearance of Charles Blé Goudé
Webstreaming of the hearing
The proceedings can be followed live on the ICC website at:
Attending the hearing
- Journalists wishing to cover the hearing are kindly invited to request attendance via email to:
[email protected]. All journalists must present a valid press card at the public entrance of the Court, located at Regulusweg (The Hague).
- Members of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and other members of the public wishing to attend the hearing are kindly invited to request attendance via email to:
[email protected]. Attendees must present a valid passport or valid ID with a photo at the public entrance of the Court, located at Regulusweg (The Hague).
Please note that individuals who do not confirm their attendance in advance cannot be guaranteed access to the hearing.
AV materials
Filming or photography is strictly prohibited inside the Court building. However pictures of the hearing will be posted on the Court’s
Flickr account.
The entire hearing will be available for download on an FTP server in video (MPEG-4) and audio (MPEG-3) format, one hour after the hearing and for viewing on the official ICC YouTube Channel.
Media Centre
For media representatives wishing to use the Court’s media facilities, the media centre will open from 8:30 until two hours after the end of the hearing.
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 capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with Internet access; and 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. 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.
Feed for the SNG trucks
SNG trucks can record the signal from the Courtroom from the distribution box placed in the media parking facilities (see below). Please note that there is no power supply available at the car park and that it is therefore necessary to have a generator.
Parking facilities
Parking facilities are available for media representatives at the Wegastraat car-park. Journalists attending are kindly invited to use the public entrance located on Regulusweg.
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].
You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter