Today, 8 July 2019, Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (https://www.ICC-CPI.int/) found Mr Bosco Ntaganda guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 2002-2003. Trial Chamber VI, composed of Judge Robert Fremr, Presiding Judge, Judge Kuniko […]

Today, 8 July 2019, Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (...



Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric... </s> The International Criminal Court has convicted a Democratic Republic of Congo rebel commander known as “The Terminator” of war crimes.

Bosco Ntaganda, who maintained his innocence during his trial, faces a maximum life sentence following his convictions at the global court in The Hague.

He showed no emotion as presiding judge Robert Fremr passed judgment.

Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 and became a symbol of impunity in Africa, even serving as a general in DRC’s (Democratic Republic of Congo) army before turning himself in in 2013 as his power base crumbled.

He faced 18 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery for his role in atrocities in a bloody ethnic conflict in 2002-2003. –AP </s> THE HAGUE —International Criminal Court judges yesterday convicted former Congolese military leader Bosco Ntaganda for atrocities including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers.

Ntaganda, 45, was found guilty for acts committed when he was military operations chief at the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia in east Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-2003.

His conviction is a rare success for prosecutors at the ICC, an international court set up in 2002 to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity when member states are unable or unwilling to do so.

Ntaganda’s sentence will be determined at a later hearing.

“The chamber … having heard all the evidence mentioned by the parties, finds you as concerns count one, murder as a crime against humanity, guilty,” said judge Robert Fremr, reading a summary of the ruling.

The court then found him guilty on all 18 charges.

His lawyers argued Ntaganda had sought to keep order among troops, punishing those who violated rules of war.

Ntaganda, in a dark blue suit, showed no emotion as the sentence was read out. He has 30 days to appeal.

In the conflict in Congo, Ntaganda’s UPC, dominated by the Hema clan, targeted rival Lendu people for expulsion from the mineral-rich Ituri region.

Hundreds of civilians were killed and many thousands were forced to flee.

“This ICC decision comforts the victims and the whole population of Ituri province, which was bereaved by the atrocities of Bosco Ntaganda’s rebellion,” said Xavier Macky, director of Justice Plus, a rights group based in the provincial capital Bunia.

He called the conviction a “contribution to the war against impunity.”

Ntaganda’s boss, UPC leader Thomas Lubanga, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after his conviction at the ICC.

The court has also convicted one of their wartime opponents, Germain Katanga.

The court has further convicted Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, a Malian who confessed to destroying cultural property, and former Ivory Coast president Jean-Pierre Bemba — but Bemba’s conviction was overturned on appeal.

An ICC warrant for Ntaganda’s arrest was first issued in 2006, and he turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy in neighbouring Rwanda in 2013, apparently having fled Congo due to infighting among military groups.—Reuters </s> A Congolese rebel chief, known as “the Terminator,” was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Monday, in a badly needed victory for judges at the International Criminal Court. Bosco Ntaganda was charged for his role in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri conflict in 2002 and 2003, including massacring civilians and sexually enslaving underage girls.

Wearing a dark blue suit, Ntaganda showed no emotion Monday as head judge Robert Fremr read out the 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity against him.

Prosecutors said the 46-year-old was a "key leader" who recruited child soldiers and gave direct orders to target and kill" non-combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province in 2002 and 2003.

"It's a bad day for Bosco, a great day for justice, a great day for the victims of Ituri," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, the Executive Director of corporate watchdog Raid in the UK, after the verdict.

"As Bosco Ntaganda stood up to hear the judgment on each one of those counts, the constant word of 'guilty, guilty, guilty' that ran out across the court room on Monday morning is important for others committing these kinds of atrocities," she told RFI. Her message is clear: justice will catch up with you.

It has taken a while. Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 by the International Criminal Court for allegedly recruiting child soldiers in Ituri, but then fell off the radar.

At one point, he even served as a general in Congo's army before turning himself in 2013 as his power base crumbled. But for nearly ten years, he was a symbol of impunity in Africa.

"To wait so long and to finally hear a verdict handed down of guilty is really important. It's timely, and I hope it will have a big impact for the victims in Ituri,” commented Lorraine Smith van Lin, a post-conflict justice adviser with human rights group Redress based in the Hague.

Ntaganda case stolen from Africa

The long-awaited verdict is also the first conviction the Hague-based court has secured for gender-based and sexual violence since its creation in 2002.

"The ICC speaks about its role in relation to sex crimes but we're not seeing a lot of evidence of actual convictions that stand, so this decision today is quite important," van Lin told RFI.

It is also important for the international body's reputation following a string of setbacks. The ICC has been criticized for letting some of its most high profile suspects walk free, including Ivorian former leader Laurent Gbagbo and another ex-Congolese warlord: Jean-Pierre Bemba.

"Those were very embarrassing acquittals for the ICC prosecutors, so the successful prosecution of Bosco Ntaganda, one of the highest profile suspects to have come to the dock in The Hague is extremely welcome," reckons for his part Phil Clark, author of the book Distant Justice, analysing the impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics.

However, he has qualms that the international justice system may be interfering with Africa's local courts.

"While many victims will welcome today's verdict, many have asked why Ntaganda wasn't prosecuted at home where they could have witnessed this case first hand, rather than having to watch the case beamed from a television screen from The Hague," he told RFI.

Wrong debate

Ntaganda, Clark argues, was already being investigated by domestic prosecutors in Bunia, the main town in Ituri. "The ICC basically stole the Ntaganda case from the domestic courts in Ituri (...)" and ultimately this "remarkable prosecutorial success, which would have been more valuable within Congo, now goes to the International Criminal Court," he added.

For Redress' van Lin, such debate is much ado about nothing.

"I think the real issue is whether or not the verdict is in favour of victims, I don't think it matters where it happens," she commented.

A total of 2,123 victims participated in the trial, including former child soldiers and victims of Ntaganda's rebel group.

"I think at the end of the day the issue is whether or not justice has been served for the victims," reckons van Lin.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since violence erupted in Ituri region in 1999, according to rights groups.

Prosecutors said Rwandan-born Ntaganda was central to the planning and operations for the Union of Congolese Patriots rebels and its military wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC). The FPLC killed at least 800 people as it fought rival militias in Ituri.

Cold-blooded

For Van Woundenburg, a former Human Rights Watch senior researcher, who has been documenting Ntaganda's crimes since 2003, and has met and interviewed him on several occasions, he stood out as a "particularly brutal individual."

"Often you get these warlords who direct, who command from their headquarters, who aren't necessarily themselves on the frontline, murdering, killing and raping. But Bosco was, which is in part why he was given the nickname "The Terminator," which I think is apt," she said.

Ntaganda is one of five Congolese warlords brought before the ICC. The FPLC's leader, Thomas Lubanga, was convicted by the ICC in 2012 of using child soldiers. He is serving a 14-year prison sentence. The court has also convicted one wartime opponent, Germain Katanga.

Other rebel leaders however, such as Mudacamara remain at large. And despite, the success of Monday's conviction, critics such as Phil Clark are disappointed that the ICC only focused on Ntaganda's early crimes and not the "more systematic and much graver crimes he committed when he became a fully fledged leader."

"It is limited in scope in terms of the time and it doesn't take into account the atrocities that are still happening," admits van Lin.

But for her, "it doesn't blight the conviction today, which demonstrates that the court is serious about going after these commanders and that the long arm of the law will still find them even years after," she said. </s> Today, 8 July 2019, Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Mr Bosco Ntaganda guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 2002-2003. Trial Chamber VI, composed of Judge Robert Fremr, Presiding Judge, Judge Kuniko Ozaki and Judge Chang-ho Chung, announced its judgment during a public hearing held in Courtroom I at the seat of the Court in The Hague (The Netherlands).

Findings: To make its decision, the Chamber reviewed all the evidence submitted during the trial, including documents, eye witnesses and insiders.

Trial Chamber VI found that the Union des Patriotes Congolais [Union of Congolese Patriots] (UPC) and its military wing, the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo [Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo] (FPLC), were at all times involved in at least one non-international armed conflict with an opposing party, in Ituri, district of the DRC from on or about 6 August 2002 to on or about 31 December 2003.

The conduct of the UPC/FPLC against the civilian population was the intended outcome of a preconceived strategy to target the civilian population, and the crimes committed took place pursuant to a policy of the UPC/FPLC. Mr Ntaganda fulfilled a very important military function in the UPC/FPLC.

In this context, the Chamber found Mr Ntaganda guilty of crimes against humanity (murder and attempted murder, rape, sexual slavery, persecution, forcible transfer and deportation) and war crimes (murder and attempted murder, intentionally directing attacks against civilians, rape, sexual slavery, ordering the displacement of the civilian population, conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into an armed group and using them to participate actively in hostilities, intentionally directing attacks against protected objects, and destroying the adversary's property).

While the evidence did not sustain all incidents indicated by the Prosecutor, it did demonstrate that in relation to each of the 18 counts at least part of the charges were proven beyond any reasonable doubt.

The Chamber has found that Mr Ntaganda was liable as a direct perpetrator for parts of the charges of three of the crimes, namely murder as a crime against humanity and a war crime and persecution as a crime against humanity, and was an indirect perpetrator for the other parts of these crimes. He was convicted as an indirect perpetrator for the remaining crimes.

Next steps: In order to determine Mr Ntaganda's sentence in this case, the Chamber will receive submissions from the parties and participants regarding the possible sentence, and will schedule a separate hearing, to receive evidence and address matters related to sentencing. Pending the decision on sentencing, Mr Ntaganda continues to be detained.

The parties (the Prosecution and Defence) may appeal the decision of conviction within thirty days. Issues related to the procedure for victims' reparations will be addressed in due course.

Background on the trial: The trial of Mr Ntaganda opened on 2 September 2015 and closing statements from 28 to 30 August 2018.

Over the course of 248 hearings, the Chamber heard 80 witnesses and experts called by the Office of the ICC Prosecutor, Ms Fatou Bensouda, 19 witnesses called by the Defence team lead by Mr Stéphane Bourgon and three witnesses called by the legal representatives of the victims participating in the proceedings, as well as five victims who presented their views and concerns.

A total of 2 129 victims, represented by their legal counsel, Ms Sarah Pellet and Mr Dmytro Suprun from the ICC Office for Public Counsel for the Victims, participated in the trial after having been authorised by the Chamber to do so.

The Trial Chamber issued 347 written decisions and 257 oral decisions during the trial phase. 1791 items were admitted into evidence. After the presentation of evidence, the Chamber received written closing submissions from the parties and the Legal Representatives of Victims; in total more than 1 400 pages. The total number of filings of the parties and participants and the Chamber's decisions is more than 2300 filings.

For further information on the case, click here

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int </s> Bosco Ntaganda, known as the "Congolese Terminator," has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The convictions include murder, rape and the use of child soldiers in warfare.

He was found guilty of all the 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity he faced. The court case took place in the Hague, where the judgment was read out on Monday.

'Key leader'

Head International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Robert Fremr said Ntaganda was a "key leader" who ordered troops to "target and kill civilians" in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2002 and 2003.

The Ituri region is still volatile, with hundreds of thousands pictured fleeing violence in June 2019.

The convictions include responsibility for an atrocity in a Congolese village, where children were disemboweled or had their heads smashed in.

The ICC said 2,123 victims of Ntaganda, whoincluded ex-child soldiers recruited under his watch, had been consulted in the trial.

Ntaganda's lawyers argued in the defense that he himself was a victim, as he had been a child soldier. He denied all charges.

The charges are from 2002 and 2003, when Ntaganda was deputy chief of staff of the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC).

He was also found guilty of pillaging and of forcefully displacing people from their homes.

'A great victory'

The court's verdict has been welcomed but there were some reservations about whether it would have long-lasting consequences for peace in the region.

Jean Bosco Lalo, who coordinates civil society groups in Ituri, told DW that "justice continues to do its work for us [...] but the situation on the ground has grown worse, and one wonders what impact this judgement by the ICC will have on these problems." Lalo said it was more important to him that criminal acts were prevented than that they were punished.

A victims' representative, Cherine Luzaisu, said the verdict was "a great victory" for victims who had been waiting for justice since 2002, and that it was also an homage to those who had died since. But Luzaisu said the surviving victims now expected compensation for the harm they had suffered.

Who is Bosco Ntaganda?

Bosco Ntaganda was born in Rwanda in 1973 and fled the country's genocide to the DRC. The Rwandan government had targeted people from his ethnic group, the Tutsis, during the genocide in the 1990s.

He joined, and then became the deputy Chief of Staff of the UPC, in 2002 and 2003. The case in the ICC focused on his actions as a high-ranking member of the UPC, in which he was accused and convicted of ordering violence targeting Lendu community in the fertile Ituri region of the DRC.

Thomas Lubanga, who was convicted of war crimes in 2014, led the UPC at the time. The ICC first called for Ntaganda's arrest in 2006. Then-DRC President Joseph Kabila did not arrest him in the interest of peace in the region, he said.

Thomas Lubanga was convicted of war crimes in the Hague in 2014

Army leader, then rebel

Ntaganda later joined the Congolese state army and rose to the rank of general. In 2012, however, he left the army and formed the M23 rebel group which was based in the North-Kivu region of the DRC. He has faced allegations of ordering mass executions, rapes and the use of child soldiers as a leader of the M23 movement. Some 800,000 people were displaced in the fighting across the country.

Read more: United Nations: 68.5 million people displaced in 2017

Ntaganda handed himself into the US Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2013, after his M23 group split. He was the first person to ever surrender voluntarily to the ICC.

"We hope for a lot from the international courts," the spokesperson of the Lendu community, who Ntanganda persecuted, told DW earlier this year. "We hope that the courts give the victims their rights back, and that the courts compensate them for Ntaganda's crimes."

The court has not yet announced a sentence but it could send Ntaganda to prison for life.

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Every evening, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> THE HAGUE — Judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday convicted Bosco Ntaganda, a former Congolese military leader, on charges of atrocities including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers.

Ntaganda, 45, was convicted for acts committed while he was a leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in in 2002-2003.

Ntaganda’s sentence will be determined at a later hearing. </s> The International Criminal Court has convicted Congolese former rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda, dubbed the "Terminator", as guilty of war... </s> Former Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda was found guilty of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity by judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday.

Ntaganda, who was nicknamed the “Terminator,” oversaw widespread attacks on civilians and recruited child soldiers.

He was convicted on all 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity. The charges included murder, rape, recruiting children as soldiers and subjecting them to sexual abuse, looting and displacement of civilians.

A total of 2,123 victims were heard from by the court since the trial opened in September 2015 in The Hague.

“We can only hope that today’s verdict provides some consolation to those affected by the grotesque crimes perpetrated by Ntaganda and paves the way for his victims and their families to finally obtain a measure of justice and reparations,” Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa said in a statement.

Ntaganda had pleaded not guilty to all the charges brought against him. He can appeal the verdict. A sentencing hearing is expected in the coming weeks.

The crimes occurred when Ntaganda headed the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) – the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots political group – in north-eastern Ituri province between 2002 and 2003.

Ntaganda ordered attacks on a rival ethnic group in order to gain control of the province’s gold, diamond and oil resources, prosecutors said.

In one incident, women had their stomachs cut open and children had their throats slit, the court heard.

Ntaganda was also involved in the M23 rebel movement, which signed a peace deal with the government in 2013.

He surrendered to the US embassy in the Rwandan capital Kigali in 2013 after having eluded capture for seven years.

Ntaganda’s former commander Thomas Lubanga was sentenced to 14 years in 2012 for using child soldiers, becoming the first person to be convicted by the ICC.

Dozens of armed groups remain active in eastern Congo, which has been ravaged by violence since the 1996-2003 Congo wars.
The International Criminal Court declares Bosco Ntaganda guilty of having committed war crimes during the Ituri conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.