Hearings in the trial of former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today continued in closed session. It was not possible to establish whether the defense was still cross-examining ‘Witness 178’, who started testifying last week.

Last week, this witness was questioned by the prosecution and legal representatives of victims participating in the trial. Parts of his evidence then were heard in open court. This week, however, when the defense was scheduled to question him, hearings have been entirely closed to the public.

‘Witness 178’ is the 27th to be called by the prosecution in the proceedings against Mr. Bemba, who is on trial for reportedly failing to rein in his Congolese troops who brutalized civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) during 2002-2003.

The trial is scheduled to continue tomorrow morning.