| Prison Name: | ICC detention centre |
| Location: | Scheveningen, The Hague |
| Coordinates: | 52.1106°N 4.3015°W |
| Capacity: | 12 |
| Opened: | 2006 |
| Managed By: | The ICC registrar |
People detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are held in the ICC's detention centre, which is located within a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague. The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.[1] As of June 2018, it has issued public arrest warrants for 42 individuals, six of whom are currently in custody of the court.
The ICC detention centre is for holding people who have been charged with crimes, not for imprisoning convicted criminals. As such, all detainees are considered innocent until their guilt has been proven. Upon conviction by the ICC, criminals are transferred outside the Netherlands to serve their sentences.
The ICC currently has twelve detention cells in a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague.[2] Suspects held by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals are held in the same prison and share some facilities, like the fitness room, but have no contact with suspects held by the ICC.[2]
The ICC registrar is responsible for managing the detention centre. The rules governing detainment are contained in Chapter 6 of the Regulations of the Court[3] and Chapter 5 of the Regulations of the Registry.[4] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has unrestricted access to the detention centre.[5]
Each individual has their own toilet and washing area.[6] Each has access to a small gym and is offered training with a physical education instructor.[6]
Detainees are provided with meals, but they may also cook for themselves, purchase food from the prison shop, and have ingredients ordered in. However, Charles Taylor's lawyers have complained that "the food which is served is completely Eurocentric and not palatable to the African palate".
Each detainee has a personal computer in their cell, on which he can view material related to their case.[7] They are offered computer training, if required,[7] and language courses.[6]
Detainees are allowed to communicate in private with their defense teams and diplomatic representatives of their countries of origin.[7] They are permitted visits from family members, spouses and partners, and spiritual advisors.[7]
The following table lists all the people who have been held at the ICC detention centre since it was established in 2006. The first person ever detained by the court was Thomas Lubanga, who arrived at the detention centre on March 17, 2006.[8]
Three former prisoners have been released or transferred, including Charles Taylor, who was tried in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. His trial was held at the ICC's facilities in The Hague because of political and security concerns about holding the trial in Freetown.[9] [10]
| Name | Arrived | Departed | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sentence of 14 years' imprisonment. On 19 December 2015, he was transferred to a prison facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to serve his sentence of imprisonment. | [11] | ||||
| Tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, transferred to the United Kingdom to serve his sentence of 50 years' imprisonment.[12] | [13] | ||||
| Sentence of 12 years' imprisonment. On 13 November 2015, the Appeals Chamber reduced his sentence. The date for the completion of the sentence is set to 18 January 2016. On 19 December 2015, Germain Katanga was transferred to a prison facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to serve his sentence of imprisonment. | [14] | ||||
| Released following acquittal; appeal confirming previous sentence | [15] | ||||
| Sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment as of 21 June 2016. His war crimes conviction was overturned on June 8, 2018. He has one appeal remaining regarding witness tampering. | [16] | ||||
| Tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, sentenced to life imprisonment on 20 March 2019. Moved to a prison on the Isle of Wight on 26 May 2021. | [17] [18] | ||||
| Released following dismissal of charges | [19] | ||||
| — | Tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 November 2017. Verdict and sentence were confirmed in June 2021. He remains incarcerated in The Hague. | ||||
| Acquitted of charges. He was released conditionally on February 1, 2019, to reside in Belgium, because prosecutors appealed after his initial acquittal. Verdict was confirmed in 2021, and Gbagbo returned to Côte d'Ivoire on 17 June 2021. | [20] | ||||
| Found guilty of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was transferred to Belgian prison on 14 December 2022. | [21] | ||||
| Case in appeal stage | [22] | ||||
| Case closed. He was sentenced in total to 6 months’ imprisonment. | |||||
| Case in appeal stage | |||||
| Case closed | [23] | ||||
| Acquitted of charges. He was conditionally released, as prosecutors appealed against verdict. After confirmation of his acquittal in 2021, he returned to Cote d'Ivoire on 26 November 2022. | [24] | ||||
| 18 December 2023 | Sentence of 25 years' imprisonment. Found guilty of 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The appeals chamber confirmed the guilt and verdict on 15 December 2022. Transferred to a Norwegian prison on 18 December 2023. | [25] | |||
| Pleaded guilty; sentenced to nine years' imprisonment on September 27, 2016. Transferred to a UK prison on May 3, 2019. | [26] [27] [28] | ||||
| — | On trial | ||||
| — | On trial | ||||
| — | On trial | ||||
| Ali Kushayb | — | On trial | |||
| Died on 27 September 2022; proceedings withdrawn on 14 October 2022 | |||||
| — | On trial | ||||
| Released after charges were withdrawn |