Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
ICC orders Congo warlord release

BBC News - July 2, 2008

Thomas Lubanga
The International Criminal Court has ordered the release of the first-ever war crimes suspect to face trial before it, Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga.

The judges said Mr Lubanga could not be guaranteed a fair trial as prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defence.

His release will be delayed by five days, pending a prosecution appeal.

Mr Lubanga, who has been in custody for two years, denies charges of recruiting child soldiers during the Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict.

Four million people are estimated to have died during the conflict in the DR Congo.

Mr Lubanga led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia in the north-eastern Ituri district, where fighting continued long after a 2002 peace deal.

In a statement released early last year, the prosecution argued that children had been snatched as they walked to school and forced to fight for Mr Lubanga's ethnic Hema militia against their Lendu rivals.

But his lawyers said he was trying to end the conflict and is being punished by the international community for refusing to give mining concessions to foreign firms in areas he controlled.

The ICC, based in The Hague, was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court.

It was designed to end the need for various ad hoc war crimes courts - including the chambers created to deal with war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda.


Related articles


  1. 'Deadly environment' plus 'political and social' obstacles hinder Ebola fight, Security Council hears (July 24, 2019)
  2. Ebola outbreak declared an international Public Health Emergency (July 17, 2019)
  3. At least 30 dead after massacres in Ituri (March 2, 2018)
  4. ICC Confirms 14-Year Sentence Against Thomas Lubanga (December 1, 2014)
  5. ICC sentences Germain Katanga to 12 years (May 23, 2014)
  6. ICC finds Germain Katanga guilty of war crimes and crime against humanity (March 7, 2014)
  7. Bosco Ntaganda Attacked Civilians on Ethnic Grounds, ICC Prosecutor Says (February 10, 2014)
  8. Rebel Leader Bosco Ntaganda Makes First Appearence Before the ICC (March 26, 2013)
  9. Bosco Ntaganda in the International Criminal Court's custody (March 22, 2013)
  10. International Criminal Court Acquits Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui (December 18, 2012)
  11. ICC Prosecutor Seeks 30 Years for Thomas Lubanga (June 13, 2012)
  12. ICC Prosecutor Seeks New Charges Against Ntaganda, FDLR Leader (May 14, 2012)
  13. Kabila's Position on The Arrest of Ntaganda 'Has Not Changed' (April 13, 2012)
  14. DR Congo Government Warns Bosco Ntaganda He May Face Justice (April 6, 2012)
  15. Thomas Lubanga found guilty of using child soldiers (March 14, 2012)
  16. Militiamen Sent to Testify in Warlords Trials at ICC (March 28, 2011)
  17. Thomas Lubanga trial to resume at ICC (October 8, 2010)
  18. ICC suspends release of Thomas Lubanga (July 23, 2010)
  19. ICC orders the release of Thomas Lubanga (July 15, 2010)
  20. ICC suspends Thomas Lubanga trial (July 8, 2010)
  21. Lubanga Witness Says He Was Paid US$200 To Tell Lies (February 8, 2010)
  22. UN Security Council renews arms embargo and sanctions in DR Congo (November 30, 2009)
  23. Activists say UN policy must change in DR Congo (November 25, 2009)
  24. ICC: Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui trial starts on Tuesday (November 23, 2009)
  25. UN mission in DR Congo denies Ntanganda's role in military operation (September 10, 2009)
  26. First Elements of Additional Troops to Reinforce MONUC Arrive in DRC (August 27, 2009)
  27. Senior UN peacekeeping official assesses DR Congo's prisons (July 22, 2009)
  28. Witness Claims Lubanga Visited Training Camp (June 5, 2009)
  29. UN complains of Congo troop delay (April 8, 2009)
  30. Negotiations between Kinshasa and CNDP Rebels to End Friday (February 20, 2009)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.