Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have confirmed 70 charges against former Lords Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen.
The confirmation of charges means Dominic Ongwen will now face the Trial Chamber for the crimes he is accused of committing. The ICC announced the confirmation of charges in a statement issued yesterday.
In January this year, Ongwen appeared before the judges at a Pre-Trial Chamber at The Hague for the confirmation of charges hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that he (Ongwen) committed each of the crimes he is accused of.
The confirmation of charges means the court believes there are sufficient grounds for Ongwen to be tried for the 70 charges against him.
The confirmation of charges hearing was held in The Hague Netherlands from January 21-26 in the presence of the accused, his defence team, the prosecution and the legal representatives of the victims.
According to the ICC statement, the Chamber concluded that there are substantial grounds to believe that Dominic Ongwen is responsible for the following crimes:
War crimes: attack against the civilian population; murder and attempted murder; rape; sexual slavery; torture; cruel treatment; outrages upon personal dignity; destruction of property; pillaging; the conscription and use of children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities;
Crimes against humanity: murder and attempted murder; torture; sexual slavery; rape; enslavement; forced marriage as an inhumane act; persecution; and other inhumane acts.
The confirmed charges concern crimes allegedly committed during attacks against the Pajule IDP (October 2003), Odek IDP (April 2004) Lukodi IDP (May 2004) and Abok IDP camps (June 2004), as well as sexual and gender-based crimes directly and indirectly committed by Dominic Ongwen and crimes of conscription and use in hostilities of children under the age of 15 allegedly committed in northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005.
The Chamber based its decision on the evidence presented to it by the Prosecutor and by the Defence which included (i) witness statements or transcripts of interviews of a total of 123 witnesses; (ii) records of intercepted LRA radio communications; and (iii) oral testimonies of seven witnesses given before Single Judge Cuno Tarfusser under article 56 of the Rome Statute in the presence of the Prosecutor and the Defence in September and November 2015.
Ongwen was allegedly Commander of the Sinia Brigade of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
The warrant of arrest for Ongwen, issued by Pre-Trial Chamber II under seal on July 8, 2005 and unsealed on October 13, 2005.
He reportedly surrendered in January last year to Seleka rebels in the volatile Central African Republic (CAR) and was handed over to the US forces working with African Union troops in the region, before being transferred to the ICC.
