Two International Criminal Court witnesses withdraw from Uhuru Kenyattas case
Updated Thursday, July 18th 2013 at 12:04 GMT +3
By Standard Digital Reporter
Two witnesses have withdrawn from testifying against President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) due to security concerns.
She said Witness 5 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify at trial due to security risks.
She said the witness believed that recent events in his life indicated efforts to discover his location and that there have been public speculation about his cooperation with the ICC.
In sum, it appears that Witness 5s concerns for his security [REDACTED] have become too great for him to bear, and he has decided to withdraw as a consequence, Bensouda stated.
The ICC Chief Prosecutor said Witness 426 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify against President Uhuru despite discussions to meet his concerns about the case.
These talks were unsuccessful and Witness 426 maintained that he was not willing to testify, said the ICC prosecutor.
Bensouda said upon review, the prosecution decided to withdraw the evidence of Witness 334 as it was no longer necessary.
President Uhuru, his Deputy William Ruto and former radio journalist Joshua Sang are facing crimes against humanity charges at The Hague based ICC.
Some witnesses who were to testify against Ruto have already withdrawn.
Source: Standard Newspaper
Updated Thursday, July 18th 2013 at 12:04 GMT +3
By Standard Digital Reporter
Two witnesses have withdrawn from testifying against President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) due to security concerns.
She said Witness 5 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify at trial due to security risks.
She said the witness believed that recent events in his life indicated efforts to discover his location and that there have been public speculation about his cooperation with the ICC.
In sum, it appears that Witness 5s concerns for his security [REDACTED] have become too great for him to bear, and he has decided to withdraw as a consequence, Bensouda stated.
The ICC Chief Prosecutor said Witness 426 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify against President Uhuru despite discussions to meet his concerns about the case.
These talks were unsuccessful and Witness 426 maintained that he was not willing to testify, said the ICC prosecutor.
Bensouda said upon review, the prosecution decided to withdraw the evidence of Witness 334 as it was no longer necessary.
President Uhuru, his Deputy William Ruto and former radio journalist Joshua Sang are facing crimes against humanity charges at The Hague based ICC.
Some witnesses who were to testify against Ruto have already withdrawn.
Source: Standard Newspaper