On Thursday, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors announced their intent to withdraw all charges against Maxime Mokom, the former Minister of Disarmament for the Central African Republic (CAR). Regarded as a former National Coordinator of Operations of the Anti-Balaka militia alliance, Mokom was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These allegations linked him with several acts of violence against the CAR’s Muslim civilian population during 2013 and 2014, including ordering civilians to be attacked, forcible transfer, and deprivation of personal liberty. Mokom, however, has denied these charges and confirmed that he had fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo before returning to the CAR in 2014.
ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan submitted a notice on October 16 to the pre-trial chamber to request to withdraw the charges during the pre-trial phase of Mokom’s case because, as the Prosecutor stated, “there were no longer any reasonable prospects of conviction at trial even if the charges were confirmed.” Khan’s team claimed that a combination of changed circumstances and a lack of evidence linking Mokom to the crimes had significantly reduced the prospects of a conviction.
According to Article 61(4) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a prosecutor can withdraw any charges before the hearing and must inform the court’s pre-trial chamber of the reasons behind the withdrawal. However, after the commencement of the trial, Article 61(9) of the Rome Statute asserts that the prosecutor can withdraw the charges with the permission of the trial chamber.
Since the confirmation hearing is still ongoing, and the charges have not yet been confirmed, the Prosecutor claims it remains his prerogative to withdraw the charges. However, if the chamber determines that permission is required, the prosecution intends to seek such permission under Article 61(9) of the Rome Statute.
Based on an article published on Jurist.