Victims Called back by Defense in Lubanga Case
The defense in the Thomas Lubanga case called two of the witnesses back to testify. The victims had testified last week on their own behalf, as part of the court’s process allowing victims to seek reparations. The victims had previously testified in closed session and were questioned again in closed session so it is not clear what the substance of the testimony was.
The court allows victims seeking reparations to participate anonymously and allows questioning in closed session to protect the identity of victims. Some details of the day’s events are here.
Thomas Lubanga is the first case to go to trial at the International Criminal Court and these victims are the first to use the court’s process to seek reparations. Thomas Lubanga is accused of using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was brought to the court in 2007 his trial started in January 2008.
