ICC jails Congo warlord for 14 years in landmark case
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 10 July 2012 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, ICC jails Congo warlord for 14 years in landmark case, 10 July 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5000253e5.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 10, 2012
Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo has become the first person to be sentenced by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Judges at the court in The Hague on July 10 ordered him jailed for 14 years for recruiting child soldiers.
Lubanga, 51, was convicted in March of war crimes – specifically, for recruiting soldiers as young as 11 for his rebel army in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-03 and forcing them to fight and commit atrocities.
It was the ICC's first verdict since it was set up a decade ago.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing how young girls served as sex slaves, while boys were trained to fight.
About 60,000 people were killed in Congo in a five-year war around the turn of the century.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
