ICC judges throw out charges against Kenya's Ruto, declare mistrial

Judges at the International Criminal Court declared a mistrial in the case of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, throwing out the charges he faced over post-election violence because political interference had made a fair trial impossible.

"The proceedings are declared a mistrial due to a troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling," judges said in a ruling issued on Tuesday and seen by Reuters.

The collapse of the case against Ruto and his co-accused, broadcaster Joshua arap Sang, follows that last year of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. In both cases, judges have found that witnesses linking the two to murderous violence that followed Kenya's 2007 elections were bribed or threatened into silence.