Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona
Title
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona
About Defendant
Alleged most senior leader and the "National General Coordinator" of the Anti-Balaka in Central African Republic (CAR).
Alfred Yekatom
Title
Alfred Yekatom
About Defendant
National of the Central African Republic, born on 23 January 1975 in Bimbo. Former caporal-chef in the Forces Armées Centrafricaines, and a member of parliament in the CAR. Allegedly commanding a group of around 3,000 members operating within the Anti-Balaka movement. Also known as "Alfred Saragba", "Rombhot", "Rambo", "Rambot", "Rombot", "Rhombot", "Rombo", or "Romboht".
Opening of the Yekatom and Ngaïssona trial postponed to 16 February 2021
: 8 February 2021
On 8 February 2021, Trial Chamber V postponed the opening of the trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to 16 February 2021. The opening of the trial was initially scheduled for 9 February 2021 but the Chamber had to postpone due to unexpected Covid-19-related circumstances. The ICC will also explore the technical possibilities to conduct the hearings with remote participation.
Yekatom and Ngaïssona case: ICC Presidency constitutes Trial Chamber V
: 17 March 2020
On 16 March 2020, the Presidency of the International Criminal Court (ICC) constituted Trial Chamber V, which will be in charge of the case of The Prosecutor v. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona. Trial Chamber V is composed of Judge Bertram Schmitt, Judge Péter Kovács and Judge Chang-ho Chung.
Yekatom and Ngaïssona case: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II confirms part of the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity and commits suspects to trial
: 11 December 2019
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Today, 11 December 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "Court") issued a unanimous decision partially confirming the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity brought by the Prosecutor against Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona and committed them to trial before a Trial Chamber. In view of ensuring protection of victims and witnesses, the decision is confidential and a redacted version of it will be published in due course.
ICC concludes confirmation of charges hearing in Yekatom and Ngaïssona case
: 11 October 2019
Today, 11 October 2019, the confirmation of charges hearing in the case The Prosecutor v. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona concluded before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), composed of Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua (Presiding Judge), Judge Tomoko Akane and Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala. The purpose of the confirmation of charges hearing is for the judges to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the suspects committed each of the crimes charged.
Statement of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Courtat the opening of the confirmation of charges hearing in the case against Mr Yekatom and Mr Ngaïssona
: 19 September 2019
Mr President, Your Honours,
Patrice-Édouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom are here today because of their criminal involvement in a campaign of violence and terror against civilians, including children — a campaign carried out by the Anti-Balaka between December 2013 and December 2014 as part of an armed conflict which has devastated the Central African Republic from 2012.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor
| Contact: [email protected]
Opening of the confirmation of charges hearing in Yekatom and Ngaïssona case: Audio-visual materials and photographs
: 19 September 2019
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Today, 19 September 2019, the confirmation of charges hearing in the case The Prosecutor v. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona opened before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), composed of Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua (Presiding Judge), Judge Tomoko Akane and Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala.
The hearing is scheduled until 27 September 2019. The judges will hear successively the oral submissions of the Prosecutor, the Legal Representatives of the Victims and the Defence.
Yekatom and Ngaïssona Case: Confirmation of charges hearing postponed to 19 September 2019
: 15 May 2019
Today, 15 May 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to postpone the commencement of the confirmation hearing in the case The Prosecutor v. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona to19 September 2019, instead of 18 June 2019. The Chamber granted a request of the Prosecutor for the postponement of the hearing in light of the need to ensure the protection of victims and witnesses.
The arrest warrant for Alfred Yekatom was issued on 11 November 2018 and unsealed on 17 November 2018. He was surrendered to the ICC on 17 November 2018 and appeared for the first time before Pre-Trial Chamber II on 23 November 2018. The arrest warrant for Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona was issued on 7 December 2018. He was arrested by the authorities of the French Republic on 12 December 2018 and transferred to the ICC detention centre on 23 January 2019, upon completion of necessary national proceedings. His initial appearance before Pre-Trial Chamber II took place on 25 January 2019. On 20 February 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber II joined the Yekatom and Ngaïssona cases.
The confirmation of charges hearing was held on 19-25 September and 11 October 2019. On 11 December 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber II partially confirmed the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity brought by the Prosecutor against Mr Yekatom and Mr Ngaïssona and committed them to trial. The public redacted version of the decision on the confirmation of charges was published on 20 December 2019.
On 11 March 2020, Pre-Trial Chamber II rejected the Prosecution's Request for Reconsideration of, or alternatively Leave to Appeal, the "Decision on the confirmation of charges against Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona", thereby concluding the proceedings in the case before that Chamber, and ordering the Registrar to transmit the Decision Confirming the Charges and the record of the proceedings to the ICC Presidency. This was done on 13 March 2020. On 16 March 2020, the Presidency constituted Trial Chamber V to be in charge of this case and is composed of Judge Bertram Schmitt, Judge Péter Kovács and Judge Chang-ho Chung.
The trial opened on 16 February 2021 before Trial Chamber V. The prosecution called 75 witnesses to testify. The Legal Representatives of Victims also called three witnesses to testify.
On 28 November 2023, the Defence for Mr Yekatom made its opening statement. The Defence for Mr Ngaïssona had already presented its opening statement at the beginning of trial.
Mr Yekatom and Mr Ngaïssona are in the Court's custody.
Next steps: On 11 December 2023, the first witness is scheduled to be called by the Defence.