THE HAGUE – The former head of Central African Republic's soccer federation used the popular sport to foster peace and unity in his country and played no role in anti-Muslim atrocities, his lawyer told judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday.
Defense lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops told the three-judge panel in his opening statement that Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona is a victim of a rush to justice by prosecutors.
Both Ngaïssona and his co-defendant Alfred Yekatom, a rebel leader known as Rambo, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to multiple charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity as their trial opened at the global court.