The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
Germain Katanga, alleged commander of the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, alleged former leader of the Front des nationalistes et intégrationnistes, (FNI), are accused of three crimes against humanity (murder, sexual slavery and rape) and seven war crimes (using children under the age of 15 to take an active part in hostilities; deliberately directing an attack on a civilian population as such; willful killing; destruction of property; pillaging; sexual slavery and rape).
Their trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will open on Tuesday 24 November.
The Prosecution submitted that on 24 February 2003, the FNI and the FRPI, acting with the common purpose of targeting the Hema population, launched a military attack on Bogoro village in the Ituri district, where at least two hundred civilians were killed. It is alleged that the suspects committed inhuman or cruel treatment of civilians, threatening them with weapons and imprisoning them in a room filled with corpses. Furthermore, in the aftermath of this attack, it is also alleged that women and young girls were abducted and turned into sexual slaves.
The trial is expected to take several months. The Office of the Prosecutor will present all the evidence at its disposal, submitting to the attention of the judges a large number of documents and videos tapes. It will also summon 26 witnesses, amongst whom will be one expert witness. The Chamber will also summons the chief of investigations of the Office of the Prosecutor in this case to testify, on 25 November, 2009, on the conditions under which the investigation took place. The Defence Counsel will then have the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses. A large number of these witnesses (19 in total) are subject to protective measures and that they will be able to testify with their image and voice distorted.
As soon as the Prosecution has finished its case, the two Defence teams, led respectively by David Hooper and Jean-Pierre Kilenda Kakengi Basila, will present exculpatory evidence in its possession and will call a number of witnesses. These will be examined by the Defence and cross-examined by the Prosecution.
The judges have recognised 345 persons as victims for the purpose of participating in this trial. The interests of these persons will be defended by two legal representatives who will present the observations and the arguments of the victims.
The case of The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is the second case in the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after that of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, whose trial commenced on 26 January, 2009, before Trial Chamber I. A fourth arrest warrant was issued for Bosco Ntaganda, who remains at large. Investigations continue in the DRC, in the regions of Ituri and the Kivus, which may lead the ICC to issue other arrest warrants.
The Aegis Trust continues to monitor the trial of Thomas Lubanga.
