Congo war crimes suspect goes on hunger strike News
Congo war crimes suspect goes on hunger strike

Bosco Ntaganda [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive], a former rebel in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has begun a hunger strike and is refusing to appear at his trial to protest the conditions of his detention. Ntaganda is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he has denied [ICC materials]. The presiding judge recently decided not to remove visitation restrictions for Ntaganda out of fear he might interfere with witnesses, but the judge stated that these restrictions do not prevent family visits. However, Ntaganda stated that he does not believe he will be allowed to see his family under normal conditions, leading him to begin the strike and tell his legal team not to act on his behalf. In a written statement, Ntaganda stated that he feels he no longer has hope that he can defend himself, and that he is ready to die. The judge has ordered his defense team to continue representing him, but also ordered a medical assessment of Ntaganda. Additionally, the judge said that a family visit should be arranged right away.

Ntaganda’s trial at the ICC began about a year ago, and he faces a maximum life sentence if convicted [JURIST report]. The rebel leader has pleaded innocent to the 18 charges levied against him, including rape, murder, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual slavery of civilians. He has been accused of killing at least 800 civilians between the years of 2002 and 2003 and keeping girl soldiers as sex slaves. In June 2014 the ICC confirmed charges [JURIST report] against Ntaganda. The ICC held the confirmation of charges hearing [JURIST report] in February 2014, reviewing approximately 69,000 pages of evidence. The previous year the ICC postponed [JURIST report] the confirmation of charges hearing in order to give prosecutors more time to prepare their case. The pre-trial chamber concluded that Ntaganda bore individual criminal responsibility for specific attacks as well as war crimes during the ongoing conflict in the DRC, referring him for trial at a future date. The Congolese general voluntarily turned himself over to the ICC in March 2013 following his surrender to a US embassy [JURIST reports] in Rwanda, marking the first time a wanted person has voluntarily surrendered to the ICC. Human Rights Watch had called for Ntaganda’s arrest on multiple occasions: most recently a direct appeal in 2012 to DRC President Joseph Kabila and previously in 2011 during an international conference after its previous request in 2010 [JURIST reports].