Feb
11

Lubanga Defense Witness Testifies for Third Day at the ICC

Lubanga defense witness Claude Nyeki Django testified for the third day that Thomas Lubanga’s Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) did not draft child soldiers.  The proceeding stopped for a time because Django broke down on the stand for a second time.  After meeting with a psychologist from the Victims and Witness Unit  (VWU) of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Django continued his testimony.  Curiously, Django said children voluntarily joined Lubanga’s army, which may not be a very good defense.  The public portions of Django’s testmony are recounted on Day One, Day Two and Day Three of his testimony.

Django’s testimony is essentially that he never served in the UPC, and was never in the armed forces at all, but was lured into a group who claimed that he had been a child soldier and he was portrayed as such by this group.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was the leader of the UPC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  He was brought before the court in 2007, and is the first person to face trial at the ICC.  Lubanga’s trial commenced in January of 2009 and the defense began presenting its case in January 2010.  Lubanga is accused of conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers, which is a war crime.  This witnesses testimony appears directed at the idea of cosncripting child soldiers, though he appears to admit there were child soldiers present to his knowledge, which would appear bad for Lubanga on the charges of enlisting and using child soldiers.

The court sits as a three judge panel, who will have to determine at the close of the case if the Office of the Prosecutor has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.  If they make a finding of guilt the trial will then move on to a reparations phase where the victims who have been granted leave to participate in the case will have an opportunity to seek reparations from the victims fund and from any assets of Lubanga’s.  The ICC is permanent court seated in The Hague, Netherlands to hear accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, where the crimes are not likely or capable of being prosecuted by national authorities.

Feb
06

Prosecutors Admonished for Late Disclosure in Lubanga Case

Judge Adrian Fulford, lead judge on the three judge panel sitting at the International Criminal Court to hear the case against Thomas Lubanga inquired of the prosecutors why they were late in disclosing evidence to the defense.  The defense complained that the late disclosure of information relating to their witnesses just before the witnesses were to be called made preparing the direct of the testimony difficult.

The prosecution apparently had information relating to the witnesses and other witness that was not disclosed until last week.  Judge Fulford said the information should have been disclosed by December of 2009 “if not substantially earlier.”  A full report of the case is available here.  The size and complexity of these cases make them difficult for both sides.  The prosecution has an advantage in staff and information. There is a great deal of information and a number of sources to keep track of as the investigations progress.  The trial in this case started in January 2009, Lubanga was brought before the court in 2007 and has been in custody since then.

Lubanga is the first person to go on trial at the International Criminal Court. Lubanga is accused of using child soldiers in his rebel army in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Feb
06

Lubanga Defense Witness Claims Son Lied To ICC

A witness called by the defense testified that his son, who appeared as a prosecution witness lied to the court when he testified about being a child soldier in Thomas Lubanga’s army.  Lubanga is the first person to face trial at the International Criminal Court.  Lubanga, from the Democratic Republic of Congo is accused of using child soldier in his rebel army.  Lubanga was brought to the court in 2007, his trial began in January 2009, in January of 2010, the defense began presenting its case.  Lubanga was the head of the Union of Conoglese Patriots (UPC in French).

A detailed account of the day’s testimony is available here. The prosecutor cross examined the man arguing that because he did not report the allegedly false testimony to the police or ICC officials that he may not be telling the truth about his son’s testimony.

There is one other case in trial at the International Criminal Court, also from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  There is one defendant before the court from Sudan, and one from the Central African Republic.  The five accused from Uganda have not been brought before the court.  There are three accused from the Sudan with open arrest warrants who have not yet been brought to the court.  There is one accused from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who is still at large.

Situations before the ICC can be referred by the state parties who have signed on to the treaty establishing the court or by the United Nations Security Council.  The court is intended to be permanent and to investigate and prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that are not prosecuted under any national authority.

Jan
31

Nicholas Kristof on War Crimes in The Congo

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times posted in his column today stories of the horrible war crimes being inflicted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The column, available here, describes the rape of young girls, their being abducted to serve as sex slaves for the rebel armies, and the terror the civilians live in because of the ongoing civil war.

Thomas Lubanga of the DRC is currently on trial at the International Criminal Court for using child soldiers in the conflict.  Charges of rape, abduction and child soldiers were considered, but the court determined the attempt to amend the case was too late and the prosecution was limited to the facts alleged at the confirmation of charges hearing.  Recently the trial resumed with the defense case, and some victims who are seeking reparations testified in support of their case.

The Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngdolo Chui case from the DRC, the second ICC case to go to trial also arose from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Katanga and Chui are charged with directing attacks on civilian targets.

The girls attacked in these cases may be eligible to seek reparations from the warlords convicted at the ICC, and funded by the Association of State’s Parties.  Persons seeking reparations must make application to the court and have a right to legal counsel  at court expense to pursue their claims.

Jan
26

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.

Jan
22

Third Lubanga Victim Testifies Seeking Reparations

A third child soldier victim of Thomas Lubanga testified about the treatment of young soldiers at the direction of Lubanga.  The victim testified about his abduction and conscription into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC in French).  A detailed report on the day of testimony is available here.

The testimony is part of the court’s unique process allowing the victims to participate in the case as it goes on, and to seek reparations.  The reparations will be funded by the victims fund, persons convicted may be directed to contribute by paying fines as well as serving sentences, but the fund will also be supported the state’s parties.

Persons who have a potential claim before the court can seek victim’s status and appointed counsel to represent their interests.  A person who applies may choose their own lawyer at the time of the application, or they will be assigned to the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims, which will handle the case within their pool of cases.

Jan
21

Lubanga Victims Testify

The Lubanga trial entered an unprecedented phase last week as the victims who are seeking reparations from Lubanga and the court testified about the harm they suffered because of Lubanga.  The victims tesitfied about their experiences being abducted as child soldiers and of others being held in sexual slavery. A summary of the testimony of the  first week of victims seeking reparations is available here.

The ICC process is unique in the history of war crimes prosecutions.  Never before have the victims of war crimes had an opportunity to seek reparations and never have they had the opportunity to participate in the case as it is going on.  This creates a difficulty for the defense as they have to defend the case on multiple fronts.  Reparations will be funded not just by the parties convicted, but by a victims fund which the member states contribute to.

Victims may seek reparations, including psychological and physical rehabilitation services. To assist them in seeking reparations, victims may request appointed counsel of their choosing, if they do not select counsel, they will be represented by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims.   Appointed counsel will not be funded by the courts and not by the victims personally.

Categories

Recent Comments

Tags

abduction Abu Garda Afghanistan Arrest warrant Bahar Idriss Abu Garda Callixte Mbarushimana Central African Republic child soldiers complementarity counsel crimes against humanity Darfur Democratic Republic of Congo Den Haag genocidal intent Genocide Germain Katanga Government of Sudan Grenada ICC International Criminal Court ISAF Ivory Coast Jean-Pierre Bemba Kenya Libya Lubanga lubange Luis Moreno-Ocampo Matthieu Ngdolou Chui New York Times Nicholas Kristof Omar Al Bashir President of Sudan Qadafi rape reparations Rome Statute sexual slavery Sudan The Hague Thomas Lubanga Union of Congolese Patriots victims war crimes
Go back to top

Switch to our mobile site