THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A lawyer for the former head of Central African Republic’s soccer federation says he used the popular sport to foster peace and unity in his country and played no role in anti-Muslim atrocities. The defense attorney insisted that his client is innocent as he made his opening statement to judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday. The former soccer official and a co-defendant, a rebel leader known as Rambo, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity as their trial opened. Prosecutors accuse them of being senior leaders in a predominantly Christian militia that battled the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group and its perceived supporters in 2013 and 2014.
