ICC to deliver verdict on Congolese accused of recruiting child soldiers
New York, 01 Mar – (ANA) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver judgment on 14 March in the war crimes trial of Thomas Dyilo, a Congolese man accused of participating in the recruitment of child soldiers. Dyilo’s trial started in January 2009 and the closing statements were presented by the parties and participants in August last year.
In accordance with the Rome Statute that established the ICC, to convict an
accused person, the trial chamber must be convinced of his or her guilt beyond
reasonable doubt. In the event of a conviction, the trial chamber will consider an appropriate sentence. Irrespective of whether the accused is acquitted or convicted, the court is required to establish the principles to be applied in relation to
reparations, and it may make orders regarding awards of reparations to victims.
Mr. Lubanga Dyilo is accused of having committed, with others, the war crimes of
enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 into the rebel group
known as Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (Patriotic Forces for
the Liberation of the Congo), and using them to participate actively in
hostilities in Ituri district in north-eastern the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) between September 2002 and August 2003. (ANA)
FA/ANA/01 March 2012---------