Kenyan deputy president orchestrated post-election brutality - ICC prosecutor

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto (R) reacts as he sits in the courtroom before his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

THE HAGUE/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's deputy president played an important role in the post-election bloodbath that engulfed Kenya in early 2008, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor told judges at the opening of his trial on Tuesday.

The most senior serving politician to appear in the dock at the Hague court, William Ruto pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity in a case that some Kenyans fear could reignite the political violence they have struggled to put behind them.