ICC drops charges against Kenyan President Kenyatta
Iran Press TV
Fri Dec 5, 2014 2:25PM GMT
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has dropped charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta due to insufficient evidence to try him.
"Prosecution withdraws the charges against Mr. Kenyatta," ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, stated in a document filed at the Hague-based court on Friday.
"The evidence has not improved to such an extent that Mr. Kenyatta's alleged criminal responsibility can be proven beyond reasonable doubt," she added.
The Kenyan president was indicted for charges including murder, rape, and masterminding post-election violence which caused the death of 1,200 people and displacement of 600,000 in the east African country in 2007-08.
In a message posted on his Twitter account after the court ruling, the Kenyan president tweeted, "I am very keen to run to my wife right now and tell her what is happening," using the hashtag "vindicated."
On Wednesday, the ICC's judges set a week-long deadline for prosecutors to beef up or drop charges against Kenyatta, saying a trial could not be postponed any longer.
Kenyatta has not appeared at the ICC since he was elected president in March 2013.
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