ICC Trial Chamber IX to deliberate on the Ongwen case
ICC-CPI-20200312-PR1519
The trial in the case
The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen has entered its final stages following closing statements that took place before Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court ( ICC or Court ) from 10 to 12 March 2020. During the closing statement hearings, the Prosecution, the Legal Representatives of Victims and the Defence presented their final arguments.
The ICC s Trial Chamber IX, composed of Judge Bertram Schmitt, Presiding Judge, Judge Péter Kovács and Judge Raul Cano Pangalangan, will deliberate on the proceedings and, within a reasonable period, pronounce its decision on conviction or acquittal pursuant to article 74 of the Rome Statute. The Chamber bases its decision only on the applicable law and on evidence submitted and discussed before it at the trial.
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The International Criminal Court in The Hague Thursday convicted a Ugandan child soldier-turned-Lord s Resistance Army commander of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt announced the verdict, saying 45-year-old Dominic Ongwen was found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” of 61 charges related to a reign of terror in the early 2000s, including widespread rape, sexual enslavement, child abductions, torture and murder, including killings of babies.
The court said Ongwen ordered attacks on refugee camps as a senior commander in the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which under its fugitive chief, Joseph Kony, waged a bloody campaign in four African nations to set up a state based on the Bible s Ten Commandments.
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THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A former Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army was convicted on Thursday of dozens of crimes, including widespread rape, sexual enslavement, child abductions, torture and murder, including killings of babies.
The International Criminal Court found Dominic Ongwen guilty of 61 out of 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. A hearing in mid-April will consider a possible sentence, which could be up to life imprisonment, with a decision expected later this year.
Judges at the court said Ongwen, who himself was taken by the LRA as a young boy, had acted out of free will in committing “innumerable” crimes between 2002 and 2005, commanding several hundred soldiers.