Why Vladimir Putin will never stand trial in The Hague

Monday morning Alfred Yekatom stared impassively into the courtroom as a witness described how her family survived a night of pillaging he is alleged to have orchestrated. The former Central African militia leader is facing a daunting rap sheet. Besides the murders, the torture, the raising of a child army and the ransacking of a mosque in 2013, one charge stands out: for crimes against humanity. That is why Mr Yekatom, who denies all the charges, was in the dock far from home in The Hague, the Dutch city that hosts the International Criminal Court (), wearing a scarf to fend off the early spring chill. Proceedings are slow. The trial is now in its third year. If a trio of blue-robed judges finds him guilty, a lengthy prison sentence awaits.