Taka blog

ICC leader: Kenya will face hurdles to defer cases

NAIROBI, Kenya – The leader of the International Criminal Court's member states says Kenya's quest to defer cases against six prominent citizens in connection with the country's postelection violence will run into political and legal hurdles.

Liechtenstein diplomat Christian Wenaweser says only the U.N. Security Council can request a deferral for a case but any of the council's permanent members can veto a resolution on the issue.

Wenaweser said Friday a better route for Kenya would be to argue to the court that it is capable of handling postelection violence cases. The ICC prosecutor wants the court to charge the six Kenyans with crimes against humanity including murder, rape and torture for violence that killed more than 1,000 people after the December 2007 election.

Since mid-January some Kenyan officials have been lobbying African nations to support a deferral of the cases.