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 protected witness testified at the International Criminal Court (ICC) entirely in closed session on Thursday. While his role was not disclosed, he spoke very briefly about the Ituri conflict in open court on Wednesday before the proceedings adjourned. “When I set up my activities in [Ituri] in 1998 … there was latent conflict there,…
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…
A former soldier in Thomas Lubanga’s Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) told the court on Friday that he was arrested and held prisoner at the militia’s headquarters in the city of Bunia. “We were locked into the rooms and the guard [was] there to make sure we could not get away,” said the witness, who…
A protected witness scheduled to testify this week against accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga told judges that he had given a false name and statement to investigators. The witness was the second for prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to recant testimony in the Lubanga trial. The first witness ultimately testified, and the…
A man known as Witness 15 who was to testify Tuesday against Thomas Lubanga told judges that he had given a false name and statement to investigators. “Shortly after [Witness 15] was called to give evidence, he indicated that he provided the [Office of the Prosecutor (OTP)] with a false name and that the…
Girls recruited into Thomas Lubanga’s militia were raped by trainers and guards, a former soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) told the court today. In court for the third consecutive day, the witness is one of many who have testified about sexual violence in the militia’s training camps. “The trainers and other guards…
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…
The children taken into Thomas Lubanga’s militia made their own toys and played marbles when they weren’t learning to use weapons, a witness told the court today. “They were always on the ground playing little games,” said the unnamed witness, identified as a soldier with the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) who also trained young…
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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