Ex-Congo vice president to appear in war crimes court

(CNN) - Former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba is due to
appear on Monday before the International Criminal Court, where he faces war crimes charges of rape, torture and pillaging during civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bemba, who was arrested near Brussels, Belgium in May, is accused by the ICC of commanding a rebel group that carried out a widespread attack against civilians between October 2002 and March 2003.

He is scheduled to appear before the independent court in The Hague,
Netherlands for a procedural hearing on his continued custody, the ICC's press office said.