‘Beyond reasonable doubt’, international court convicts notorious DR Congo rebel leader of war crimes
“Some bodies were found naked, some had hands tied up, some had their heads crushed”, said Judge Fremr. “Several bodies were disembowelled or otherwise mutilated”.
The Chamber found the commander directly liable for perpetrating acts of murder, as a crime against humanity and a war crime as well as bearing indirect responsibility in other instances.
A total of 2,129 victims were represented through legal counsel. The Trial Chamber issued 347 written decisions and 257 oral decisions during the trial, receiving some 1,400 pages of written closing submissions, and entering 1,791 separate pieces of evidence.
Next steps
According to news reports, Mr. Ntaganda, who was first indicted in 2006, became a symbol of impunity in Africa, even serving as a general in the Congolese Army before turning himself in 2013, at the UN embassy in neighbouring Rwanda, as his power base crumbled.
To determine Mr. Ntaganda’s sentence, the Chamber will schedule a separate hearing, for which it will receive and review evidence, during which time the former warlord will continue to be held in detention.
Known by the nickname “Terminator”, Mr. Ntaganda is the fourth person to be convicted by the ICC since its inception in 2002, and the first to be convicted of sexual slavery. The 46-year-old now has 30 days to appeal the convictions.
