The International Criminal Court has sentenced a Ugandan former child soldier who turned into a brutal rebel commander to 25 years in jail.
Judges said that Dominic Ongwen’s own abduction as a schoolboy and history as a child soldier prevented him from being sentenced to life.
He was convicted in February of a total of 61 war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, forced marriage and using child soldiers as a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
His lawyers have said they will appeal against the conviction.
Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said that judges had to weigh Ongwen’s brutality with his own tortured past when deciding on a sentence.
ICC sentences former Ugandan rebel commander to 25 years in prison
theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Int l Court sentences Ugandan to 25 years for war crimes - World News
castanet.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from castanet.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.