ICC wants Walter Barasa arrested for 'witness bribing'

Adapted from the BBC.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a Kenyan journalist suspected of offering bribes to prosecution witnesses in the trial of Deputy President William Ruto.

There were reasonable grounds to believe that Walter Osapiri Barasa was "corruptly influencing" or trying to influence witnesses, a judge ruled.
This is the first time the ICC has issued such an arrest warrant.
Mr Barasa, 41, told the BBC he was ready to prove his innocence.
He told the Reuters news agency that police had so far not tried to detain him.
"I have not gotten in touch with any witnesses or anybody having any intention of asking them or bribing them to pull out of the case," he said, Reuters reports.

Mr Barasa is a former employee of People newspaper in Eldoret, the home town of Mr Ruto in north-west Kenya.
The newspaper was recently bought by Mediamax Network Ltd. President Uhuru Kenyatta's family is the company's main shareholder.

Mediamax Network said it no longer employed Mr Barasa, AFP news agency reports.
Mr Ruto is on trial for alleged crimes against humanity and his case resumed at The Hague on Wednesday morning.
He denies the charges, which stem from allegations that he orchestrated violence after disputed elections in 2007.
President Kenyatta is due to stand trial on similar charges in November. He, too, denies the allegations.
'Sabotage' Mr Barasa was allegedly "acting in furtherance of a criminal scheme devised by a circle of officials within the Kenyan administration", the ICC said in a statement.
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Some witnesses were too scared to testify and another witness had recanted his testimony, the ICC said at the time.

In court papers, prosecutors said Mr Barasa had offered bribes amounting to $16,200 (Kshs. 1 million).
Judge Cuno Tarfusser ruled that Mr Barasa should be arrested and tried to ensure that he did not "endanger the investigation or the proceedings, and to prevent him from continuing with the commission of the crime", the ICC said.
Kenya's Attorney-General Githu Muigai said the warrant would come under "judicial consideration" before it was enforced.
ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called on Kenya to immediately arrest and transfer Mr Barasa to The Hague.
Mr Barasa was part of a network trying to "sabotage" the case, Ms Bensouda alleged.
The arrest warrant was issued in August but made public only on Wednesday, partly to act as a warning to others that they could not get away with interfering with witnesses.
If found guilty Mr Barasa could face up to five years in jail.