Posts Tagged ‘Lubanga’


May 30, 2010

Interview: Most Victims in Lubanga Trial Are Not After Reparations, They Just Want Their Stories Told

By Wairagala Wakabi

Paolina Massidda is the Principal Counsel of the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC). She has been closely involved with the trial of former Congolese leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first person ever to be tried at the ICC. Mr. Lubanga is alleged by ICC prosecutors to have…

May 13, 2010

Former Suspect Agrees to Interview With Lubanga Prosecutors

By Wairagala Wakabi

Prosecutors in the war crimes trial of Thomas Lubanga are set to interview a former suspect in the war crimes investigations by the Office of The Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Judge Adrian Fulford on Tuesday gave prosecutors the greenlight to interview the suspect, who goes by the name of ‘Witness 3’.…

May 11, 2010

Lubanga Trial: Prosecution Witness Set To Testify

By Wairagala Wakabi

A prosecution witness, who was unable to testify in the Thomas Lubanga war crimes trial last year due to ill health, will give evidence next Monday, according to presiding judge Adrian Fulford. ‘Witness 297’, a former child soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the militia group that Mr. Lubanga is alleged to have…

March 2, 2010

Lubanga Trial Resumes Tomorrow

By Tracey Gurd

Thomas Lubanga’s war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) resumes tomorrow after a hiatus of two weeks. On February 18, 2010, court took a break to allow Lubanga’s lawyers to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to conduct what Judge Adrian Fulford referred to as “critical research”. Once the trial resumes,…

February 23, 2010

Lubanga Lawyers Want ‘Vulnerable’ Witness To Testify Via Video Link

By Wairagala Wakabi

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…

February 10, 2010

Witness Says Lubanga Didn’t Conscript Children

By Wairagala Wakabi

A defense witness today told court that the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) – the group Thomas Lubanga is alleged to have led – did not conscript any children. Instead, children who had no parents, and those who adored soldiers that extorted money from civilians, voluntarily joined the group. Claude Nyéki Django, the 20-year-old defense…

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…

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…

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…

January 20, 2010

No trial today as new ICC judges are sworn in

By Tracey Gurd

The trial of Thomas Lubanga did not go ahead as usual today as the International Criminal Court held a ceremony swearing in two new judges to sit on the court. The new judges are Ms Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi (Argentina) and Ms Kuniko Ozaki (Japan) who swore their oaths in front of the other ICC…