A lawyer for an ex-militia leader from the Central African Republic (CAR) has told judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that his client was tortured after his arrest last month and before his extradition to The Hague on Saturday.

Alfred Yekatom, known as "Rambo", led a mostly Christian "anti-Balaka" militia which formed after mainly Muslim rebels seized power in the CAR in 2013 - and the country descended into religious violence (see earlier post).

It was Mr Yekatom’s first appearance before the judges since coming into ICC custody. He is facing charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the forcible deportation and torturing of civilians.

But defence lawyer Xavier Jean Keita said the judges should know that his client’s fundamental rights had been violated since his arrest in the CAR on 29 October.

Now a serving MP, Mr Yekatom had been arrested after he drew a gun in the parliament and fired shots in the air.

Mr Keita said the arrest was “brutal in nature” and that afterwards Mr Yekatom had been kept in a presidential detention unit where he had been beaten with the butts of Kalashnikov rifles – traces of the torture were still visible on his body.

The MP had been denied access to his lawyer in Bangui and was not informed of the charges against him until he was transferred to The Hague, he said.

Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua said the rights of a suspect were important, but Friday's hearing was only to inform Mr Yekatom of the charges.

He set 30 April 2019 as the date for confirmation of charges hearing, the next step in the legal process – and advised the defence lawyer to file submissions about Mr Yekatom's complaints.