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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
A former child soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) told court on Friday that one of his roles was to identify the militia group’s enemies, and then those enemies were shot by other UPC soldiers. Testifying as a victim in the trial of former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, the witness said he…
Another former child soldier who is participating as a victim in the trial of former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga today testified about his conscription into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), and the roles he played as a member of the militia group. He said UPC fighters abducted him while he was returning home…
Horrific stories of murder, sexual slavery and beatings emerged in the courtroom this week as victim participants took the witness stand in the trial of Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, at the International Criminal Court. A schoolmaster told of his suffering allegedly at the hands of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia who hit…
The trial of Congolese war crimes accused Thomas Lubanga this week focused on the atrocities which fighters of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) meted out on civilians and child soldiers, and also saw one of the participating victims who gave evidence asking for reparations. According to the testimony of two participating victims, UPC militiamen…
A former child soldier on Thursday recalled how he was abducted by militiamen belonging to the group which Thomas Lubanga allegedly led, got tortured at a training camp, and watched his friends get killed in battle “like flies”. The former child soldier was the second participating victim to give evidence at the Lubanga trial. He…
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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