The highly anticipated trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, the first for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, had a troubled start this week. After two days of forceful opening statements by the prosecution and defense, prosecutors stumbled when their first witness, a former child soldier, said that he had lied. “What…
A former fighter said he saw child soldiers trained for and killed in battles fought by the militia of accused Congolese leader Thomas Lubanga. The witness, who remained unidentified, said he “saw them,” when asked by prosecuting attorney Manoj Sachdeva how he knew children were in the militia. “I was involved in the training.” The…
A former child soldier who recanted his story against accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga is unable to continue his testimony, the International Criminal Court ruled Thursday. Presiding Judge Adrian Fulford said the witness was not in an “appropriate state,” but wanted court officials to determine if the young man might testify at a future…
Prosecutors in the trial of Thomas Lubanga suffered a setback today when their first witness abruptly changed his story, saying he lied and had been coached on what to say in court. The unnamed witness initially told the International Criminal Court (ICC) that militia men reportedly commanded by Lubanga had kidnapped him on his way…
Attorneys for Thomas Lubanga said today the accused militia leader is a scapegoat for others who bear the “highest responsibility” for the militia’s conscription of child soldiers and other atrocities. Lubanga pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of conscripting and using child soldiers in his militia, known as the Patriotic Front for the Liberation…
Prosecutors in the trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga on Monday said he not only conscripted young boys to fight in the Ituri region’s bloody conflict, he also abducted young girls for sex slaves. Although Lubanga has not been charged with crimes of sexual violence by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Chief Prosecutor…
Finally, it is here. After many months of delay, and the chance that Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo would go free because of fair trial concerns, he is now in the dock and the International Criminal Court’s first ever trial is ready to start. So was it worth the wait? Some say no. Critics…
Welcome! Today, Thomas Lubanga will finally stand in front of a crowded courtroom to answer charges of allegedly conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers to fuel the Congo’s brutal conflict during 2002 and 2003. This is the ICC’s first trial. We will be updating you daily on this trial from the courtroom, as well as…
It is estimated that more than 30,000 child soldiers have been used in the DRC, girls and boys, since 1996 when the first war broke out in Uvira, South Kivu province, eastern DRC (former Zaire). In Ituri, as in the Kivus, child soldiers were used by militias, rebel groups and the national army. Children were…
Thomas Lubanga on trial at the International Criminal Court. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is the first person to be tried by the International Criminal Court. A former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lubanga is accused of conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers. More
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