{"id":204535,"date":"2016-04-05T15:54:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T15:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=204535"},"modified":"2016-04-05T15:54:59","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T15:54:59","slug":"kenyas-william-rutos-case-a-mistrial-icc-judges-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=204535","title":{"rendered":"Kenya&#8217;s William Ruto&#8217;s case a mistrial, ICC judges say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">The International Criminal Court has declared a mistrial in Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto&#8217;s crimes against humanity case.<\/p>\n<p>There had been a &#8220;troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling&#8221;, judges said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Ruto denied murder, deportation and persecution charges during violence that followed the 2007 elections in which about 1,200 people were killed.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 599px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/12B4A\/production\/_89081667_89081666.jpg\" alt=\"Kenyans displaced by post-election violence take refuge in the grounds of the Burnt Forest Church near Eldoret (January 2008)\" width=\"599\" height=\"337\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scores of people were displaced by the post-election violence of 2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His lawyers wanted the case to be terminated due to a lack of evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Ruto is one of the most senior politicians to be tried by the ICC.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/44D2\/production\/_89081671_89081670.jpg\" alt=\"View inside the Central Criminal Court (28 January 2016)\" width=\"603\" height=\"339\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/span><\/figure>\n<p>In February judges at the ICC barred the use of recanted testimony, meaning that prior recorded witness statements could not be used by prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>Several key witnesses in the case have changed their statements, which prosecutors said was due to intimidation and bribery.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Ruto&#8217;s lawyers said he should be acquitted because so many key prosecution witnesses either dropped or changed their original statements.<\/p>\n<p>ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda acknowledged that the loss of witnesses weakened the case against the deputy president &#8211; but she argued there still remained enough evidence to proceed with the trial.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, the prosecutor dropped similar charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, alleging that witnesses had been intimidated to make them change their testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta were on opposite sides of the 2007 election, but formed an alliance that won the 2013 election.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Criminal Court has declared a mistrial in Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto&#8217;s crimes against humanity case. There had been a &#8220;troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling&#8221;, judges said. Mr Ruto denied murder, deportation and persecution charges during violence that followed the 2007 elections in which about 1,200 people were killed. 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