May 19, 10

NEWS / ICC delegation travels to Guinea to follow up on probe into killings

19 May 2010 – A delegation from the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) begins a three-day visit to Guinea today to consult with judicial authorities and seek an update on local investigations into last year’s bloody suppression by the military of opposition protests in which 156 civilians were killed.

The mission follows a trip to Guinea in February by the ICC’s deputy prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, four months after the prosecutor’s office made public its preliminary examination in Guinea, as the international community demanded accountability either through ICC or Guinean judicial proceedings following the September 2009 massacre and brutal assault against civilians.

Guinean authorities have been cooperating with the ICC prosecutor’s office, as well as with regional and international organizations, the Court said in a statement.

Guinea has been a State party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, since 14 July 2003. As such the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide possibly committed in the territory of Guinea or by nationals of Guinea.

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=34744&Cr=+Guinea+&Cr1=