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Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is set to go on trial for rapes and murders allegedly committed by his troops in the neighboring Central African Republic.
The trial, which is expected to last for months, will begin at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Monday.
Bemba is charged with three counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity for the alleged atrocities of about 1,500 fighters of his Congolese Liberation Movement [MLC] between October 2002 and March 2003.
The 48-year-old will plead not guilty at the trial.
"It is the first time in the history of international justice that a military commander is on trial on the basis of indirect criminal responsibility for rapes committed by his fighters," an official in the prosecutor's office told the AFP news agency.
The case should serve as an "example" for others who lead fighters in war, he said.
'Hundreds of rapes'
People who allege that they were raped include both males and females, aged between 8 to 70 years old.
So far, 135 victims have been authorized to participate in the trial, represented by two lawyers. Another 1,200 are waiting to be recognized as victims and they may also seek reparations.
Prosecutors say that about 400 rapes were recorded in Bangui, the Central African Republic [CAR] capital.
These were carried out during five months of fighting as the MLC helped Ange-Felix Patasse, then Central African president, resist a coup led by Francois Bozize, the current president.
But Aime Kilolo, Bemba's defense lawyer, said that the MLC "fought in the uniform of the Central African Republic and under its flag, it was the Central African authorities who were in charge of command and discipline".
Bemba was arrested in Brussels in May 2008 on an ICC warrant. The court was asked to take the case by Bozize.
PHOTO CAPTION
Congolese opposition figure Jean-Pierre Bemba (R) sits in court with one of his lawyers at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands October 19, 2010
Al-Jazeera
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