Global court gives Congo's Bemba an extra year for witness bribing

FILE PHOTO: Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Michael Kooren/File Photo

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday added a year to Jean-Pierre Bemba's 18-year jail term following the former Congolese vice president's conviction for attempting to bribe witnesses during his war crimes trial.

After a second trial on the separate charges, Bemba, who was vice president of Democratic Republic of Congo from 2003 to 2006, was ordered to pay a 300,000 euro fine to the court's fund supporting victims of atrocities.