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                    ICC Drops Case Against Kenyan President

   by VOA News

   The International Criminal Court has dropped charges of crimes against
   humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

   The decision was announced Friday, two days after the court gave
   prosecutors one week to either strengthen or drop charges against
   Kenyatta.

   U.S.-based Human Rights Watch criticized the decision, saying it "sets
   back efforts to end the country's entrenched culture of impunity."  The
   nonprofit research and advocacy group said the roadblocks in the
   Kenyatta trial make it all the more important for the ICC to figure out
   how it can move ahead with high-profile cases against powerful people.

   The trial has been postponed several times, and the Hague-based court
   released a statement Wednesday saying further delay "would be contrary
   to the interests of justice under the circumstances."

   Kenyatta was facing charges for allegedly organizing post-election
   violence in late 2007 and early 2008. The unrest killed about 1,100
   people in Kenya and displaced more than a half-million others.

   The prosecution acknowledged it lacked sufficient evidence to convict
   the Kenyan leader if his case went to trial. It also said the Kenyan
   government has obstructed its efforts to gather evidence, including
   Kenyatta's phone, tax and banking records.

   Kenyatta has maintained he is innocent, and his defense lawyers had
   said before Friday's decision that the case against their client had
   collapsed.

   In October, Kenyatta became the first sitting president to appear
   before the ICC, attending a key hearing meant to determine whether the
   case against him should be dropped or postponed indefinitely.

   Kenya's Attorney General Githu Muigai said the government had done its
   best to produce material requested by the prosecution, but some of the
   demands were impossible to meet.

   The Kenyatta case was a major test for the ICC, which has secured only
   two convictions since it began operating in 2002. If the trial had gone
   forward, Kenyatta would have become the first current head of state to
   undergo prosecution there.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/icc-drops-case-against-kenyan-preside
   nt/2546982.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/icc-drops-case-against-kenyan-president/2546982.html