Bemba seeks $75m in damages from the ICC

Lawyers for former DRC Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year, are seeking nearly $75m in damages. They want compensation for what they say was his unlawful detention, legal fees and losses due to the alleged mismanagement of his assets seized by the court. During 10 years in detention, Bemba’s assets 'were simply allowed to rot', his lawyer Peter Haynes told journalists in The Hague. BBC News reports that the assets included seven aircraft, three villas in Portugal, two boats and three properties in the DRC. The amount he is seeking is just under half of the ICC’s annual budget of about $168m. No date was set for when the filing would be considered by ICC judges, who have rejected similar claims in the past.