Headquarters of the ICC, The Hague, Netherlands
The Hague (IINA) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it is opening a preliminary probe into the violence that erupted last year in Burundi, Voice of America (VOA) reported.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the probe is not an investigation and offered no timeline of how long it will last. But in a statement announcing her decision Monday, she said she has been closely tracking the uptick of violence in Burundi that has been a member of the Hague-based court since 2004.
“My office has reviewed communications and reports about killings, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence as well as cases of enforced disappearances. Because all these acts appear to fall within the jurisdiction of ICC, I have decided to open a preliminary examination into the situation in Burundi since April 2015,” Bensouda said.
Burundi’s political crisis was triggered last year when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a disputed third term. The ICC prosecutor said at least 430 people have been killed, 3,400 have been arrested and more than 230,000 Burundians have fled the country.
AB/IINA
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