Follow Us:

CICC, ICC Press Releases on Second Trial; CICC Live Chat; Continued News Coverage

02 Dec 2009

Dear all,

Please find below information about recent developments related to the International Criminal Court's investigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

This message includes press releases issued by Coalition for the ICC (I) and ICC (II) as well as news coverage (III) in relation to the ICC�s second trial opening in the DRC situation.

Today, the Coalition for the ICC hosted on its blog, In Situ, a live Question and Answer chat session with Mariana Pena, Permanent Representative of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The full transcript of questions and answers on the opening of the Germain Katanga/Mathieu Ngudjolo trial is accessible online at www.iccnow.org/blog

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 Secretariat

**************************
I. CICC PRESS RELEASE

�ICC to open second trial against two Congolese warlords Katanga and Ngudjolo: Alleged crimes include rape, sexual slavery and recruitment of child soldiers�, CICC, 20 November 2009, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/Katanga-Ngudjolo_trial__CICC_PR_Nov09_EN.pdf

�On 24 November 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) will open its second trial in the case of The Prosecutor vs. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. [�]

�Every case before the ICC is unique with its own challenges. In this second trial, the Court will deal with two accused, two defence teams, multiple charges and more participating victims than in the Lubanga trial,� said William Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, a global network of civil society organizations in 150 countries advocating for a fair, effective and independent ICC. �While we can expect that the Court has learned lessons from its first trial and from other international trials with multiple accused, no court can be 100% prepared for all procedural eventualities. Luckily, while the Court is far away from the DRC, the Rome Statute ensures that victims have a voice in the Court room, enabling them to react first hand to such eventualities and advise the court on how to proceed.� [�]

�We welcome the extensive and unprecedented participation of victims in the Katanga/Ngudjolo trial, said Paulina Vega, Interim Director at the International Justice Desk of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). �However we hope that the fact of having a single legal representative for the larger group of victims will not fail to guarantee their meaningful participation,� she added. �The aim is that legal representatives help victims convey their views and assist them in the appropriation of these proceedings; otherwise victims will be left behind once again in the proceedings of international justice,� she stated. [�]

For Roger Muchuba, deputy coordinator of the DRC Coalition for the ICC, this trial will be closely followed in the Congo for victims� expectations are riding high: �We are interested to see how the trial is conducted in The Hague and what happens in the field "far away from The Hague" given the decision against in situ hearings and the general climate of insecurity that prevails here.� Muchuba adds that �This trial is crucial for victims, and their expectations for the trial should be met, especially given the length and complexity of the proceedings. For us, bringing justice to victims has always been essential.� [�]

Following the start of the trial, the Coalition for the ICC will host two live blogging sessions in French and English on 25 November and 2nd December 2009, respectively. To participate in the discussion, visit www.iccnow.org/blog �

II. ICC PRESS RELEASES

i. �The Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui trial will resume on 26 January, 2010,� ICC-CPI-20091202-MA56, 2 December 2009, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/92638487-660D-4F84-B8DB-5DF964B2B272.htm

« Today, 2 December, 2009, Trial Chamber II decided to postpone the hearings in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui due to a traffic accident which precludes Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert from attending the hearings prior to the Court winter recess (from 12 December, 2009 to 4 January, 2010).The trial will resume, as scheduled, on 26 January, 2010.

Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Congolese nationals, are charged with three crimes against humanity and seven war crimes allegedly committed in the context of an armed conflict in Ituri which began in Djugu territory and in the town of Mongbwalu, and in particular during the joint attack by combatants led by Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga on Bogoro village on 24 February, 2003, which was part of a widespread attack and was directed not only against a military camp located in that village, but also against the civilian population of the village. �

ii. �ICC Press release: Opening of the trial in the case of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui on 24 November, 2009�, ICC, Press Release, 20 November 2009, http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/press and media/press releases/pr477

�The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, which will open on Tuesday, 24 November, 2009, before Trial-Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is the second trial in the context of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), referred to the Court by the Government of the DRC on 3 March, 2004. The hearings will be held from 9:30 to 16:00, until 11 December, 2009, and will resume on 26 January, 2010.

Germain Katanga, alleged commander of the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri (Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri, FRPI), and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, alleged former leader of the Front des nationalistes et intégrationnistes, (National Integrationist Front, FNI), are accused of three crimes against humanity (murder, sexual slavery and rape) and seven war crimes (using children under the age of 15 to take an active part in hostilities; deliberately directing an attack on a civilian population as such or against individual civilians or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; willful killing; destruction of property; pillaging; sexual slavery and rape).�

III. NEWS COVERAGE

i. �ICC: Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui trial starts on Tuesday�, Congo Planet, 23 November 2009, http://congoplanet.com/article.jsp?id=45261549

�The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, which will open on Tuesday, 24 November, 2009, before Trial-Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC)...is expected to take several months. During the first part the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), represented by Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Senior Trial Attorney Eric Macdonald will be presenting evidence at the OTP�s disposal, submitting to the attention of the judges a large number of documents which it has compiled in the case, as well as video tapes. It will also summon 26 witnesses, amongst whom will be one expert witness. The Chamber will also summons the chief of investigations of the Office of the Prosecutor in this case to testify, on 25 November, 2009, on the conditions under which the investigation took place. The Defence Counsel will then have the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses. It should be noted that a large number of these witnesses (19 in total) are subject to protective measures and that they will be able to testify with respect for their anonymity (their image and voice might thus be distorted). [�]

The judges have recognised 345 persons as victims for the purpose of participating in the case of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. The interests of these persons will be defended by two legal representatives (lawyers who will present the observations and the arguments of the victims. [�]

The case of The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is the second case in the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after that of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, whose trial commenced on 26 January, 2009, before Trial Chamber I. A fourth warrant of arrest was issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 22 August, 2006, against Bosco Ntaganda, who remains at large. Investigations continue in the DRC, in the regions of Ituri and the Kivus, which may lead the Office of the Prosecutor to apply for the issuance of other warrants of arrest.�

ii. �ICC Start of ICC trial for two Congolese men�, IOL/AFP, 22 November 2009, http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20091122101954394C382508

�Two Congolese militiamen accused of seeking to wipe out a village blocking a strategic route in an ethnic war, enter the dock in The Hague Tuesday for the International Criminal Court's second trial.

Germain Katanga, 31, and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, 39, stand accused over an attack by their forces on the village of Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern Ituri region that killed 200 people in February 2003.

They deny guilt on ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including charges of murder, rape, sexual slavery, using child soldiers, attacking civilians, pillaging and destruction of property.

The prosecution alleges that more than a thousand fighters of Katanga's Patriotic Resistance Force (FRPI) and Ngudjolo's Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) entered Bogoro on February 24 six years ago "with one communicated and agreed goal: to erase the village of Bogoro".

�The attack was indiscriminate and systematic,� said Jean-Louis Gilissen, legal representative to a group of former child soldiers alleged to have taken part in the attack, and given victim status by the court. [�]�

iii. �2 Warlords Plead Innocent in Congo Massacre Trial�, AP/NY Times, 24 November 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/24/world/AP-EU-International-Court-Congo.html

�Two Congolese militia leaders sent child soldiers and other fighters to wipe out a village in a revenge attack that left more than 200 men, women and children dead, a prosecutor told judges Tuesday at the International Criminal Court.

'Some were shot in their sleep, some cut up with machetes to preserve bullets. Others were burned alive after their houses were set on fire,'� Luis Moreno Ocampo said in his opening statement. [�]�

iv. �DRC Government to Broadcast Live ICC Trial�, VOA News, 23 November 2009, http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/DRC-Government-to-Broadcast-Live-ICC-Trial--71752262.html

The Democratic Republic of Congo�s Information Minister says his country�s official radio and television will provide live coverage of Tuesday�s trial of Congolese militiamen at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Lambert Mende reiterated his government�s support for the trial of those accused of carrying out the 2003 massacre of at least 200 Congolese in the Ituri district.

�Not only do we support that trial, but we also are prepared to dispatch it by our national radio and national television. So that every Congolese in Kinshasa and all the 11 provinces and Ituri where the atrocities have been committed can follow it and see that we are very committed to punish everybody who violates human rights in our country,� he said...�

v. �ICC trial of Congolese militiamen to reveal 'the truth'�, AFP, 23 November 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h6eKByzIPqsmZxzppdwm2lJl7p7Q

�Lawyers for two Congolese militiamen accused of seeking to wipe out a village blocking a strategic route in an ethnic war, on Monday welcomed start of their trial in The Hague this week as a step towards �the truth�. [�] �We are all seeking the same thing, we are all seeking the truth,� Katanga's lawyer, Andreas O'Shea, told journalists on Monday, adding that his client �shares and sympathises with the grief of the victims of the war in the DRC.�

vi. �Report: Congo massacre witnesses were threatened�, Mike Corder (Associated Press), 25 November 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/25/AR2009112500655.html

�Witnesses testifying against two Congolese warlords at the International Criminal Court have been threatened and the court does not have the resources to fully protect them, a senior investigator testified Wednesday.

...Prosecutors plan to call 26 witnesses to testify and 21 of them will be given protective measures in court to shield their identity to try to prevent possible retaliation.

The investigator testified Wednesday as the first witness to outline how her team built its case against Katanga and Ngudjolo. Her identity also was shielded.

�Our witnesses have also been subjected to clear threats in the course of this investigation,� she told judges.

Investigators and prosecutors at the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal give witnesses advice on how to protect themselves but she said sometimes �these quite simply have been not enough.�

She did not elaborate on whether any witnesses had suffered physical harm, but her comments showed the difficulties of building cases in conflict zones.�

vii. �Second Congo War Crimes Trial Begins: Accused deny massacre charges amid concern that people in Ituri missed court proceedings,� by Rachel Irwin and Charles Ntiricya (IWPR), 27 November 2009, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=357810&apc_state=henpacr

�The war crimes trial of two former Congolese militia leaders began this week amid concerns that people affected by the case in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, had no way to watch the proceedings themselves.

Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo deny the charges against them at the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague and Katanga�s lawyer said he was not responsible for what he called �excesses�.

�The trial has not been broadcast directly in Ituri,� one of Ngudjolo�s lawyers, Jean-Pierre Kilenda, told judges on November 25, calling on them to ensure that the situation was remedied. �I have stressed that the proceedings not be limited to this courtroom,� responded presiding Judge Bruno Cotte, who had previously mentioned the importance of holding a public trial that was accessible to people in the eastern Ituri region, which is the subject of the trial.

In a highly unusual move, the judge asked for an official dealing with public information to appear in court to explain what had happened and clear up any �misunderstandings�.

�To address what happened this week, Sonia Robla, head of public information at the ICC, appeared in the witness box on November 26.

�The outreach unit is highly committed to ensuring that the proceedings are properly understood by the affected communities,� she told judges.

Robla said that her team had planned to arrange for the opening day of the Katanga trial to be broadcast on Congolese state television. At the last minute, however, they were informed that part of the satellite was busy and the broadcast would not be possible.

As a result, her team resorted to �Plan B�, which involved calling Ituri community leaders, giving radio interviews and producing audiovisual summaries of the proceedings. Robla said that the entirety of the opening statements would be broadcast on state television on November 27.

�For the rest of the trial, we have a very good plan,� she said.

Robla�s appearance followed that of the first witness - the head of investigations for the office of the prosecutor, OTP� �

SEE ALSO:

a. "International Court to start second trial�, Associated Press, 23 November 2009,
http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2009/11/23/11883956.html

b. �Start of ICC trial for two Congolese militiamen�, Zee News, 22 November 2009, http://www.zeenews.com/news581104.html

c. �DR Congo 'warlords' trial opens at ICC�, BBC News, 24 November 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8375601.stm

d. �Congo warlords in the dock at Hague court�, Reuters, 24 November 2009, http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AM2N6

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

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