Hearings for a trial of fugitive Ugandan insurgent commander Joseph Kony started at this time on the Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) in The Hague.
Kony has been wished for struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity since 2005, making him the ICC’s longest-standing fugitive.
The founding father of the Lords Resistance Military, a militia that has fought towards the Ugandan authorities since 1987, Kony has been accused of abducting no less than 60,000 kids to make use of as baby troopers and intercourse slaves.
Deputy prosecutor of the ICC Mame Mandiaye Niang mentioned that the court docket hopes to cost him with 39 separate counts, together with homicide, rape, the usage of baby troopers, sexual slavery and compelled being pregnant.
In 2012, Joseph Kony was the topic of a viral on-line marketing campaign to carry him to justice, known as Kony2012.
African Union troops started a serious seek for the insurgent commander in 2012, supported by US troopers, however the mission ended a number of years later with out Kony’s seize.
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A US particular forces captain speaks with troops from Uganda throughout their seek for Joseph Kony, April 2012. Pic: AP
The hearings at this time mark the beginning of the ICC’s first try to prosecute a suspected struggle prison in absentia – with out their bodily presence within the courtroom.
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Prosecutors on the Worldwide Prison Court docket start presenting proof towards the fugitive Ugandan insurgent commander Joseph Kony, who stays at massive. He faces accusations of struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity.
Authorized specialists mentioned that the trial may function a blueprint for future proceedings towards different suspects whose seize might show troublesome, reminiscent of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prosecutors “have their eyes in the long run on the possibility of using this procedure against Putin or Netanyahu if they continue to elude justice year after year,” says worldwide legislation professor Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve College.
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The ICC holds a affirmation of prices listening to towards the fugitive Ugandan insurgent commander Joseph Kony.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant towards Putin in 2023, accusing him of illegally deporting lots of of kids from Ukraine, which is a struggle crime. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the fees.
Learn Sky’s investigation: Ukraine’s lacking kids
Netanyahu was issued with an arrest warrant in November 2024, with the ICC charging the Israeli chief with struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity within the Gaza Strip, together with homicide and the usage of hunger as a weapon of struggle.
Israel has denied the accusations and rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction, and the US has sanctioned ICC prosecutors concerned within the case.
