ICC finds Congo warlord Lubanga guilty
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2012, Thursday
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THE International Criminal Court convicted a Congolese warlord yesterday of using child soldiers, a verdict hailed as a legal landmark in the fight against impunity for the world's most serious crimes.
Human rights advocates said the guilty verdicts against Thomas Lubanga - the first judgment in the court's 10-year history - should stand as a clear deterrent to armies around the world not to conscript children.
Actress and activist Angelina Jolie watched the verdicts from the court's public gallery.
"This is their day - where these children will feel there is no impunity for what happened to them, for what they suffered," Jolie said.
Lubanga will be sentenced following a hearing that will be scheduled later this year. He faces a maximum of life imprisonment. It took six years from the time Congo handed over Lubanga to his convictions, but the three-judge panel was unanimous in finding him guilty.
"The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities," said Presiding Judge Adrian Fulford.
Lubanga, wearing an ivory-colored robe and skull cap, sat with his hands clasped in front of him listening to the verdict and showed no emotion as Fulford declared him guilty.
Human rights advocates said the guilty verdicts against Thomas Lubanga - the first judgment in the court's 10-year history - should stand as a clear deterrent to armies around the world not to conscript children.
Actress and activist Angelina Jolie watched the verdicts from the court's public gallery.
"This is their day - where these children will feel there is no impunity for what happened to them, for what they suffered," Jolie said.
Lubanga will be sentenced following a hearing that will be scheduled later this year. He faces a maximum of life imprisonment. It took six years from the time Congo handed over Lubanga to his convictions, but the three-judge panel was unanimous in finding him guilty.
"The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities," said Presiding Judge Adrian Fulford.
Lubanga, wearing an ivory-colored robe and skull cap, sat with his hands clasped in front of him listening to the verdict and showed no emotion as Fulford declared him guilty.
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