Daily Report

February 8, 2010

Lubanga Witness Says He Was Paid US$200 To Tell Lies

By Wairagala Wakabi

A witness today told the war crimes trial of Thomas Lubanga that intermediaries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) gave him US$200 as payment for convincing his nephew to give false testimony against the accused. The boy subsequently testified as a prosecution witness and claimed that he was a former child soldier in Lubanga’s militia…

Weekly Summary

February 4, 2010

Judges Fault Prosecutors As Second Defense Witness Appears

By Wairagala Wakabi

As the second defense witness in the Lubanga trial started testifying on Tuesday this week, judges berated the prosecutors for failing to tell the accused’s lawyers some important information they had collected about two of the defense witnesses in a timely way. The contest over the disclosures came after the first defense witness had finished his testimony, in which…

Daily Report

February 2, 2010

Second Defense Witness Testifies Without Protective Measures

By Wairagala Wakabi

The second defense witness to appear in the Thomas Lubanga war crimes trial today gave evidence without protective measures such as face and voice recognition – but he gave almost all of his evidence in closed session. Because he said little in sessions which were open to the public, it was not known in what capacity…

Daily Report

February 1, 2010

Lubanga Witness Claims His Son Lied To The ICC

By Wairagala Wakabi

A defense witness told the Thomas Lubanga trial that his son appeared before the court as a prosecution witness and lied about serving as a child soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the group which the International Criminal Court (ICC) says was led by Lubanga. Under cross-examination by the prosecution’s Manoj Sachdeva, the…

Weekly Summary

January 29, 2010

Lubanga’s Lawyers Will Ask Judges To Discontinue Case

By Wairagala Wakabi

Thomas Lubanga’s defense case opened this week with his lawyers declaring that prosecution witnesses were coached, and that the witnesses who claimed to have been child soldiers never were. Catherine Mabille, the lead defense counsel, said on Wednesday that they would ask judges to discontinue the case after producing16 witnesses who will, among others, show…

Daily Report

January 28, 2010

Witness: My Son Was Never A Child Soldier

By Wairagala Wakabi

The first witness to appear for the Thomas Lubanga defense told court today that although his son never served in any military group, an organization which had promised to give the boy a job later started passing him off as a former child soldier. According to the testimony, the unnamed organization also duped the child’s…

Daily Report

January 27, 2010

Defense Case Opens, Lubanga Lawyers Claim Testimony Was Fabricated

By Wairagala Wakabi

Thomas Lubanga’s defense opened today at the International Criminal Court (ICC), with his lawyers declaring that they would produce evidence to show that agents of the Office of The Prosecutor helped to fabricate the testimony of several witnesses who were called by the prosecution. Catherine Mabille, Lubanga’s lead counsel, said they would produce 16 witnesses…

Daily Report

January 26, 2010

First Defense Witness In Court Tomorrow

By Wairagala Wakabi

The first witness to appear for the Thomas Lubanga defense is expected to give evidence tomorrow (Wednesday). The witness will presented after lead counsel Catherine Mabille has explained how the case will unfold and highlighted certain themes of the accused’s case.  But Mabille has today said that they were experiencing some problems related to their…

Daily Report

January 25, 2010

Two Victims Called Back At Defense’s Bidding

By Wairagala Wakabi

Two victims participating in the Thomas Lubanga trial who had concluded giving their evidence have been called back to the witness box for more questioning at the bidding of the defense team. The prosecution and the legal representatives of the victims did not object to the request by the defense.   During today’s hearing, Judge Adrian…

Trial Reports

January 24, 2010

Lubanga’s Defense Case Starts This Week

By Wairagala Wakabi

Three years, 10 months, one week. That is how long for he has waited. This week, Thomas Lubanga gets to start telling judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) why they should set him free. The 49-year-old psychology graduate has pleaded not guilty to the war crimes over which he first appeared in court at…