Follow Us:

Case Lubanga Dyilo and Case Katanga-Ngudjolo-Chui

12 Aug 2008

Dear all,

Find below information related to the International Criminal Court's investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regarding the case of "The Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo," find below media articles and a press release from the Court on important decisions regarding victims' participation in the proceedings as well as media reports about the current status of the trial.

Regarding the case of "The Prosecutor vs. Katanga and Ngudjolo-Chui," you will find below information on Katanga's waiver of his right to attend the pre-trial hearings.

Finally, we excerpt from media reports about a recent DRC government initiative to grant amnesty to rebel groups, plans for an IWPR international justice radio show and articles about other justice initiatives in the DRC.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Best regards,

CICC Communications
[email protected] <mailto:communications@;coalitionfortheicc.org>

************

I. LUBANGA CASE

A. ICC media advisory about 11 July hearing

"Media Advisory: Appeals Chamber will deliver two judgments in the Lubanga case," 9 July 2008 (ICC-CPI-20080709-MA19_ENG), http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/401.html <http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/401.html>

"Situation: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Case: The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

Please be advised that on 11 July 2008, the Appeals Chamber will convene a hearing in the Lubanga case, at 15:00, in Courtroom I.

The purpose of this hearing is to deliver, in open court, judgments in:

* the appeals of the Prosecutor and the Defence against the decision of Trial Chamber I entitled "Decision on Victims' participation" of 18 January 2008; and
* the appeal of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo pursuant to the decision of Trial Chamber I of 6 March 2008, entitled "Decision on the Defence request for leave to appeal the Oral Decision on redactions and disclosure of 18 January 2008..."

B. Media reports

i. "Fair Trial vs Confidentiality: Judges at the ICC wrestle with conflicting rights in the trial of Thomas Lubanga" by Eugene Bakama Bope (Institute for War and Peace Reporting), 8 August 2008, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=346057&apc_state=henh <http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=346057&apc_state=henh>

"The recent decision by the International Criminal Court, ICC, to suspend the case against former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga raises critical issues that must be resolved quickly by the court.

...Lubanga's trial was due to start on June 23, but was suspended by the ICC judges.

The court contended that that ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, had misused his authority by refusing to disclose more than 200 documents that he had collected from sources at the United Nations.

These documents included information that could have helped in Lubanga's defence, the judges decided, and so Lubanga could not have a fair trial.

On July 2, the ICC decided to set Lubanga free as a logical consequence of the suspension of proceedings, even though no decision has been made as to Lubanga's guilt or innocence.

On July 7, the ICC's appeals chamber agreed to hear Moreno-Ocampo's challenge to the ICC ruling, and kept Lubanga in detention until the appeal is decided.

The essential issue is a conflict between Lubanga's right to a fair trial and the ability of the prosecutor to guarantee confidentiality for his sources of information.

Two provisions in the Rome Statute that created the ICC concern confidentiality of documents and the right to a fair trial.

According to article 54-3-e, the prosecutor can agree not to disclose, at any stage of the proceedings, documents or information that he obtained on condition of confidentiality and solely for the purpose of generating new evidence. That confidentiality can be lifted only when the provider of the information consents.

However, article 67-2 stipulates that the prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence evidence in the prosecutor's possession or control which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused, or which may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence.

On one hand, the statute allows the prosecutor not to disclose the documents or information he obtained on the condition of confidentiality.

On the other, it directs the prosecution to inform the defence of the evidence that could help the accused.

In order to avoid the same difficulty in the Katanga, Ngudjolo and Bemba cases, the court must find a balanced solution that takes into account both the right to a fair trial and the guarantee of confidentiality....

While the decision of the judges to suspend the Lubanga trial is a sign of their strong desire that the defendant receive a fair trial, it also created a lot of confusion.

It is important now for the ICC to conduct an awareness campaign in the Ituri region of the DRC to explain that the court's action does not mean the end of the trial. Rather, it is a suspension aimed at protecting the right of the accused to a fair trial.

However the judges resolve the issue, which hopefully will serve both the right of the accused and the prosecutor, their decision will have far-reaching consequences.

It will affect at least three or more pending cases that involve similar militia leaders from the DRC. And it will also serve as important case law in the growing arena of international justice."

ii. "Prosecution urges ICC to lift stay on first war crimes trial," Agence France Press, 11 July 2008, http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHxz9sHe-O4X9xf2fczFYYVOgJmg <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHxz9sHe-O4X9xf2fczFYYVOgJmg>

"Prosecutors urged International Criminal Court judges Friday to lift an indefinite stay on the trial of Congolese militiaman Thomas Lubanga and revoke a decision to release him.
Lubanga's trial, the ICC's first, was to have started last month but was stalled when the court ruled that prosecutors had wrongly withheld evidence favourable to the defence

...The prosecution filed an application informing the trial chamber that the United Nations had agreed to give judges access to previously sealed UN-sourced documents containing potentially exonerating information for the defence.

...The court put an indefinite stay on proceedings until the matter was resolved, after which Lubanga launched a successful bid for his release.

...'We are hopeful that the practical arrangements now proposed ... will enable early review of all the materials by the judges, and will therefore remove obstacles for the trial to proceed,' said the prosecutor's office."

iii. "Prosecutors ask to begin first Int'l Criminal Court trial," USA Today, 11 July 2008, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-07-11-International-Criminal-Court-trial_N.htm <http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-07-11-International-Criminal-Court-trial_N.htm>

"Prosecutors asked judges Friday to go ahead with the International Criminal Court's first-ever trial after winning concessions from the United Nations on disclosing documents the U.N. had wanted to keep secret.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the U.N. has agreed to relax restrictions for judges and defense attorneys to evidence that could help acquit Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, or mitigate his guilt.

...The latest U.N. offer, attached to Moreno-Ocampo's motion Friday, said the judges can make copies of the confidential material and, if necessary, make summaries for the defense...."

See also:

--"Congolese war crimes suspect Lubanga kept in custody," afrol News, 9 July 2008 http://www.afrol.com/articles/29740 <http://www.afrol.com/articles/29740>

--"International Criminal Court suspends release of Congolese rebel leader," Xinhua General News Service, 9 July 2008, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/09/content_8516502.htm <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/09/content_8516502.htm>

-- "International Criminal Court suspends release of Congolese rebel leader,"
UN News Service, 8 July 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27306&Cr=ICC&Cr1= <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27306&Cr=ICC&Cr1=>

-- " Congo warlord to stay in custody during appeal," The Associated Press (reprinted in Tehran Times), 8 July 2008, http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=172769 <http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=172769>

-- "War crimes suspect Lubanga to stay in custody," Reuters, 7 July 2008, http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL07231797.html <http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL07231797.html>

-- "Court blocks DR Congo war crimes accused Lubanga's release," Agence France Presse (reprinted by MONUC), 7 July 2008, http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17723 <http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17723>

II. KATANGA AND NGUDJOLO CASE

"Congolese warlord boycotts war crimes hearings; demands to see wife," Associated Press Worldstream (reprinted by MONUC), 9 July 2008,
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17732 <http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17732>

"A former Congolese militia leader boycotted a hearing in his war crimes case Wednesday, complaining that he hasn't been allowed to see his family.

Defense lawyers said Germain Katanga intends to stay away from the courtroom in The Hague until the end of a pre-trial procedure to confirm the charges against him.

...The judges ordered the hearing interrupted until lawyers get Katanga's signature on a letter stating his intentions.

...Prosecutors say Katanga and Ngudjolo each led a militia group during Congo's latest war and combined forces to destroy the village of Bogoro, which was controlled by a rival ethnic faction.

They are not required to enter pleas until the pretrial judges rule that the prosecution has enough evidence to go ahead with a trial. The pretrial hearings were to conclude July 16.

It is only the second case heard by the International Criminal Court since the permanent war crimes tribunal began functioning in 2002...."

II. GENERAL COVERAGE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVES IN CONGO

i. "Monuc Supports Congolese Justice in the Investigation of the Lieke Lesole Atrocities," by Codjo Houegniglo (MONUC), 29 July 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200807290904.html <http://allafrica.com/stories/200807290904.html>

"From 21-26 July 2008, MONUC Kisangani led a joint mission with Congolese authorities to Lieke Lesole, in Tshopo district in Province Orientale. The aim was to assist Congolese justice in its investigation into the massive rapes, looting and torture committed in this area in July 2007 by a group of Maï Maï militia.

...The Lieke Lesole case is a file that Congolese justice eagerly wants to bring to court, to judge and condemn the culprits.

On the night of 21 July 2007, a group of Maï Maï militia, headed by Colonel Thoms, besieged the village of Lieke Lesole, 363km northeast of Kisangani in the sector of Yawende Loolo, where Maï Maï were devoted to looting, torture and massive rapes of women and young girls under the operation 'Etakata' (cleansing or clean city) invented by the Maï Maï for unknown reasons.

...'With these examinations, testimonies and statements collected, we are now ready to start the military tribunal so that justice can be done,' said Captain Thom Mutombo...."

ii. "International Justice/ICC: Jun '08: ICC project announces plans for new international justice radio show to be broadcast throughout DRC," Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 22 July 2008, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=345836&apc_state=henh <http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=345836&apc_state=henh>

"A new IWPR fortnightly radio show, Facing Justice, to be broadcast across the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, will aim to increase public understanding of developments at the International Criminal Court, ICC, in the DRC.

The 15-minute programme - to be produced in partnership with NGO Search for Common Ground - will be broadcast in Lingala, Swahili and French on a bi-weekly basis throughout the DRC.

...The show was conceived after the project team spent time networking with journalists and editors in Uganda, Sudan and the DRC. Traveling throughout these countries - which all have nationals indicted before the ICC - confirmed that radio is a highly effective medium for the dissemination of news and information...."

iii. "Congo-Kinshasa: Delly Sesanga accuses the Congolese state of complacency in the Bemba, Lubanga, Katanga and Ngudjolo cases," by Tshieke Bukasa, Le Phare (Kinshasa), 21 July 2008, http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200807220470.html <http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200807220470.html> (in French)

"Delly Sesanga Hipungu Dja Kaseng, co-founder of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC)...discussed the Jean-Pierre Bemba case at the ICC, the political positions of his party, and concluded with comments on the visit of the French president.

...Castigating the politicization of the "Bemba affair," the elected official from Luiza (Kasai Occidental) openly condemns the partisan attitude of the international community, which accords the Sudanese president a particular treatment while being indifferent to the "Bemba" case.

...Today, he elaborated, discussion centers prominently on African presidents (Wade, Bozize, etc.) who have asked for the cessation of prosecution in order to preserve stability. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre Bemba is an essential component of the democratic process in our country, as well its reconstruction and its stability. For him, the ICC claiming to fight against impunity is not able to make progress on the Darfur case, because Sudan is supported by China. 'The MLC denounces the politicization of the ICC and this politics of double standards of the international community.' In addition, he added, it is because the Congo is a weak state that many of its citizens are sought for prosecution. The weakening of the international forum is evident in the Congolese government's haste to take note of the arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba. The MLC states: 'the ICC should not treat the Congo as a testing ground'...."

[Informal translation by the CICC Secretariat. Not for citation in official documents or communications]

iv. "Congo Offers Amnesty to Rebel Groups in Restive Eastern Region," by Godfrey Maganda and Franz Wild, Bloomberg, 18 July 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aC5ou0dMVO9A&refer=africa <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aC5ou0dMVO9A&refer=africa>

"The Democratic Republic of Congo offered amnesty to rebel groups operating in its restive eastern region who signed a peace deal in January.
The amnesty covers crimes committed by rebel groups since 2003 in the North and South Kivu provinces, Vital Kamerhe, president of Congo's lower house of parliament, said in a phone interview yesterday from the capital, Kinshasa. The law, which was approved by Congo's parliament on July 12, excludes acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

...The FDLR is led by those involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which at least 800,000 people died.
Kamerhe said the amnesty won't apply to those indicted by the International Criminal Court, such as Nkunda's military chief of staff, Bosco Ntaganda. The law must be approved by Congo's Senate before being handed to Kabila for signing.
Congo is Africa's biggest producer of tin, most of which is mined in the eastern province of North Kivu...."

v. "DRC grants amnesty to LRA rebels," by Grace Matsiko (The Monitor), 17 July 2008, http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/DRC_grants_amnesty_to_LRA_rebels_68361.shtml <http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/DRC_grants_amnesty_to_LRA_rebels_68361.shtml>

"DR Congo (DRC) has passed a law giving amnesty to foreign armed groups including Ugandan rebel forces operating in the east of the country, which has been ravaged by years of armed conflict.

The amnesty law passed by the country's parliament on Saturday applies to all crimes committed by the rebel groups since June 2003. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are some of the Ugandan dissident groups, classified by the US as terrorist organisations operating from the lawless eastern part of DRC.

However, the law does not apply to rebel leaders indicted for "acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, " as is the case with the LRA leader, Joseph Kony and his two surviving subordinates, the president of the lower house of parliament, Vital Kamerhe, added following the vote, which was broadcast live on national television.

... But an official at Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to journalists said once the Ugandan rebels surrender in DRC, Kinshasa will transfer them to MONUC, which in turn will repatriate them to Uganda. It is in Uganda that the rebel fighters will receive a certificate of amnesty through the Amnesty Commission and other resettlement packages...."

vi. "UN mission in Congo calls for inquiry into peacekeepers," The Associated Press, 11 July 2008, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/11/africa/AF-Congo-Peacekeepers.php <http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/11/africa/AF-Congo-Peacekeepers.php>

"United Nations officials have opened an investigation into a tape on which a U.N. peacekeeper in Congo is heard praising a rebel general who has been accused of atrocities.

... An audio tape that surfaced recently records a farewell ceremony thrown for the peacekeeper by warlord Laurent Nkunda, a rebel leader in eastern Congo whose militia is accused by Human Rights Watch of summary executions, torture and systematic rapes.
The ceremony marked the end of the Indian peacekeeper's one-year tour in the troubled hills of eastern Congo. The peacekeeper referred to Nkunda as his "brother" and to the war his militia was waging as "a noble cause," according to a U.N. official who saw the transcript of the recording. He asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press...."

See also:

--"DR Congo: Amnesty approved for 'rebels' in east - Some reactions," ReliefWeb, 14 July 2008, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/PANA-7GJHTE?OpenDocument <http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/PANA-7GJHTE?OpenDocument>

--"Parliament passes amnesty law for acts of war, rebellion," The Ottawa Citizen, 13 July 2008, http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/newsbriefs/story.html?id=3b3d9cb9-d91c-4015-8679-f48fff04e3c2 <http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/newsbriefs/story.html?id=3b3d9cb9-d91c-4015-8679-f48fff04e3c2>

*********
CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.

The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
P.O. box 19519
2500 CM the Hague
The Netherlands