War crimes prosecutors on Wednesday called for former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba to be sentenced "to at least 25 years" in prison for a slew of rapes and murders in Central African Republic over a decade ago.

The prosecution at the International Criminal Court was asking for "a sentence of at least 25 years, and in any case not less than 25 years, of imprisonment be imposed on Jean-Pierre Bemba as would be proportionate to the gravity of the offences he committed and to his degree of culpability," prosecutor Jean-Jacques Badibanga said.