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Prosecution concludes case in trial of Congo militia leader Lubanga

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The prosecution in the trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo concluded its case on Tuesday after presenting 22 weeks of testimony. The trial, occurring at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, began in January, nearly three years after ICC prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant. Lubanga stands accused of war crimes for allegedly recruiting child soldiers to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) in 2002-2003. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case in October. Lubanga's trial was halted soon after it began when one of the child witnesses recanted his testimony that Lubanga had recruited him for the militia. Lubanga maintains he is innocent of the charges against him. Lubanga became the first war crimes defendant to appear before the ICC, formed in 2002, after he was taken into custody in March 2006.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).