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Congo warlord defence opens Thursday: ICC
The Hague (AFP) Jan 5, 2010 Lawyers for Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, accused of recruiting child soldiers, will open their defence at the International Criminal Court on Thursday, the court announced. Lubanga, 49, went on trial a year ago charged with war crimes for using children under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the 1997-2002 civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has pleaded not guilty. "On January 7, 2010 at 09:30am (0830 GMT), the defence team of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will start the presentation of its case," said a court statement. The defence case, led by Catherine Mabille, is expected to last several months and call around 30 witnesses, it said. Prosecutors say Lubanga's role in the conflict was driven by a desire to maintain and expand control over the eastern Ituri region, one of the world's most lucrative gold-mining areas. Rights groups claim inter-ethnic fighting has killed 60,000 people in Ituri over the last decade. Prosecutors say his militia abducted children as young as 11 from their homes, schools and football fields and took them to military training camps where they were beaten and drugged. The girls among them were used as sex slaves. The prosecution wound up its case on July 14 after calling 28 witnesses, including former child soldiers, over 74 days of hearings. Its first witness, a child soldier, retracted his testimony under Lubanga's constant glare from the dock, forcing the court to examine new ways of shielding witnesses. The ICC is the world's only independent, permanent court set up to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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