Commanders in Thomas Lubanga’s militia impregnated young female recruits, a former soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) told prosecutors on Tuesday. “[The commanders] took girls and would get them pregnant, and then these girls had to leave the camp and go [back] to the village,” said the witness, who trained young recruits at…
Defendant Thomas Lubanga told new military recruits that he wanted to transform the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a witness revealed to prosecutors on Thursday. “[Lubanga] simply asked the men to be calm, and said the [Union of Congolese Patriots] wanted peace and that we were going to remake our country,” explained the unnamed…
Defense lawyers pressed a former child soldier today on details surrounding his kidnapping and enlistment into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC). Earlier this week, the witness told prosecutors that he was taken by soldiers on his way home from school and transported by truck to a military training camp in the Ituri town of…
Most of Tuesday’s proceedings were closed to the public as Thomas Lubanga’s defense team cross-examined last week’s witness, a former officer in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia. The closings prompted Judge Adrian Fulford to apologize for what he said might be considered “extremely irritating” moves by the court for public observers of the…
The case against accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga appears to be strong so far, say legal observers, despite attempts by the defense to undermine key testimonies. Because the testimony has been provided by traumatized former child soldiers and some of the recorded statements were given three years ago, the inconsistencies can be explained, experts…
A former child soldier in the militia of Thomas Lubanga described being beaten, whipped, and forced to stare at the sun as punishment for disobeying orders, he told the court on Thursday. As a guard in the militia of Lubanga’s Union of Congolese Patriots, the witness said he followed his commander – referred to as…
A witness in the trial of Thomas Lubanga admitted on Wednesday to contradictions between his testimony in court and his earlier statements to court prosecutors. During cross-examination by defense counsel Marc Desalliers, the witness, referred to in court by the pseudonym Patrick, agreed that his statements contained conflicting details about the battles he fought, his…
The defense cross-examined an unnamed witness on Thursday about a video clip depicting a large group of children singing for defendant Thomas Lubanga. “Is this song a military song?” asked Jean-Marie Biju-Duval, one of Lubanga’s lawyers. “Yes,” responded the unnamed witness, who was testifying for the fourth consecutive day. The witness was present when the…
Two weeks after recanting his testimony, a former child soldier took the stand again this week and told prosecutors that he was forced to train and fight in defendant Thomas Lubanga’s militia. “We would jump over bodies,” he said of one battle. “We had killed a lot of people.” The witness said he was in…
Thomas Lubanga’s defense lawyers questioned a witness on Friday about his use of child bodyguards and how he knew they were under the age of 15. “It’s very difficult [to tell],” acknowledged the unnamed witness, a former high ranking official in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the defendant’s political party. “It could be they…
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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