Djokaba Lambi Longba, a witness in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) trial of Thomas Lubanga who has requested asylum in the Netherlands, must be returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a Trial Chamber at the ICC confirmed recently. After considering submissions from Longba’s lawyers, Trial Chamber I refused to revoke its previous…
In May 2011, four International Criminal Court (ICC) witnesses filed applications for asylum in the Netherlands. The witnesses had been brought to The Hague from a prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they had been imprisoned for over five years for their alleged role in the murder of UN peacekeepers. They…
Some six years ago, the International Criminal Court started proceedings in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a militia commander from Eastern Congo accused of conscripting, enlisting and using child soldiers. His trial was the first to open at the ICC in The Hague in January 2009; it is now entering its final stages, with the scheduled hearing of final arguments from the prosecution and…
Former child soldiers in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the group which war crimes accused Thomas Lubanga is alleged to have led, this week recounted stories of torture, whippings and brutal punishments of boys and girls who served in the militia group. Two former child soldiers told the Lubanga trial at the International Criminal…
Three of the 103 victims participating in the Thomas Lubanga trial will this week give evidence in what is the first opportunity for victims to testify in this capacity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The victims have to date played a unique role in the trial. Their legal representatives always attend court hearings and…
As the much-anticipated start of the Lubanga defence case draws nearer, his team has expressed concern that some of their witnesses might not be available to testify when required, as difficulties in obtaining passports could stop them from travelling to The Hague on time. “Our concern is that we have drawn a list of witnesses…
In the coming months, we will now get to hear Thomas Lubanga’s side of the story. Between January and July last year, we heard horror stories from prosecution witnesses, often former child soldiers, who told of life as a child soldier in the UPC militia camps – the rapes by camp commanders; children abducted on their…
After a hiatus of more than five months, the trial of former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga will resume this Thursday January 7, 2010, with two expert witnesses expected to be the first to testify. However, the highlight of this leg of the trial will be Lubanga’s defense case, which is expected to kick off…
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…
A child protection specialist told prosecutors today that she referred many children to reintegration centers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including an 11-year-old. Christine Peduto, who worked for the United Nations Mission to the Congo (MONUC), said the boy was recruited when he was just 10, and was the bodyguard 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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