Thomas Lubanga’s attorneys have asked for permission for one of the defense witnesses to testify via video link from Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They said traveling to The Hague would be cumbersome for the “extremely vulnerable” witnesses. Judges Adrian Fulford, Elizabeth Odio Benito, and René Blattmann ruled on February 10, 2010…
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…
After a summer that has left the future shape of the trial in doubt, Catherine Mabille spoke with the Lubanga Trial website about the possibility of new charges against her client, victims’ participation, and what will happen next. Rachel Irwin: Let’s begin by talking about the developments this summer. The victims’ representatives asked the judges…
ICC Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has been present in court almost every day of the prosecution’s case against Thomas Lubanga, which concluded on July 14. She recently spoke to the Lubanga Trial website about the controversy over sexual violence charges, the challenges of witness protection, and why victims’ participation is important. Rachel Irwin: The issue…
Defense lawyers questioned a witness today on why he repeatedly hid his weapon after leaving the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC). “If you were caught with your weapon, they would take it from you and you would be arrested,” the witness told Marc Desalliers, one of Lubanga’s lawyers. The witness, who continued his testimony from…
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…
A former child soldier deflected questions during cross-examination today and accused Thomas Lubanga’s defense lawyers of trying to trap him. “What you’re doing is satisfying yourself with information provided to you by your client,” the witness told Marc Desalliers, one of Lubanga’s lawyers. “Perhaps the court will decide that [Lubanga] is innocent…. But what I…
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…
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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