Ex-Congo rebel leader convicted of war crimes

A former Congolese rebel leader was convicted of war crimes and offences against humanity on Monday.

The International Criminal Court found Bosco Ntaganda guilty of 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity.

The former deputy leader of the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), who came to be known as the Terminator, was charged with recruiting child soldiers, allowing sexual abuse against minors and ordering attacks against civilians in Ituri province, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo between July 2002 and 2003, reported Efe news.

A panel of judges Robert Fremr, Kuniko Ozaki and Chang-ho Chung at the Hague found him guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.

He also committed crimes against humanity including "murder and attempted murder, intentionally directing attacks against civilians, rape, sexual slavery, ordering the displacement of the civilian population, conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into an armed group and using them to participate actively in hostilities, intentionally directing attacks against protected objects, and destroying the adversary's property."

The ICC said Ntaganda was found to be a direct perpetrator for parts of the charges in three of the crimes, including murder and persecution, and was an indirect perpetrator for other crimes.

"In order to determine Ntaganda's sentence in this case, the chamber will receive submissions from the parties and participants regarding the possible sentence, and will schedule a separate hearing, to receive evidence and address matters related to sentencing. Pending the decision on sentencing, Mr Ntaganda continues to be detained," the court said.

The trial against the former rebel leader opened on September 2, 2015, and since then, the court has seen 248 hearings including 80 witnesses and expert accounts.

The maximum penalty at the ICC is 30 years in prison, although that term can be extended in exceptional cases.

It was the latest DRC-linked case to be processed at the ICC which recently sentenced the former head of the FPLC, Thomas Lubanga and the head of a separate guerrilla group, Germain Katanga.