ICC in the Media, Update #35

This week most of the media attention has shifted back to the case of the "Kenya six," suspected of orchestrating and encouraging the 2008 election violence that led to the death of more than 1,200. Last week the Pre-Trial Chamber II rejected the Kenyan government's request to get access to the prosecution's evidence. Such access would provide the government with a means of challenging the admissibility of the case in the international tribunal. However, this week the government moved to appeal the matter for review by the ICC's Appeals Chamber. As a secondary tactic to challenge admissibility, reportedly the Kenyan government has begun interviewing the suspects about their involvement in the violence to prove to the ICC that domestic investigations are taking place. A prominent Kenyan human rights group has publicly come forward calling the efforts a "false attempt to try and stop the ICC process" and emphasizing that many of victims of the 2008 violence continue to suffer, often living in camps as Internally Displaced Persons. Also in the Kenya case, reportedly fourteen witnesses have been given lifetime witness protection by the ICC's Witness Protection Unit. It was also reported this week that the ICC's Prosecutor Ocampo is using several files leaked by Wikileaks in his case against the Kenya suspects. Photo credit: Capital FM.