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ICC rejects Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga's appeal | ICC rejects Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga's appeal |
(35 minutes later) | |
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has rejected an appeal by the Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, against his conviction for using child soldiers. | The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has rejected an appeal by the Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, against his conviction for using child soldiers. |
Prosecutors said boys as young as 11 had been abducted to fight in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo that started in 1999. | |
Girls were used as sex slaves, the trial heard. | Girls were used as sex slaves, the trial heard. |
In 2012, Lubanga became the first person to be convicted by the ICC. | In 2012, Lubanga became the first person to be convicted by the ICC. |
He had been the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia which was active in the war that started in the Ituri region in north-eastern DR Congo. | He had been the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia which was active in the war that started in the Ituri region in north-eastern DR Congo. |
The ICC convicted him of recruiting children under the age of 15 and sending them to the battlefield. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. | |
On Monday, the court also rejected Lubanga's appeal against the length of his sentence. | |
Thomas Lubanga | |
• Leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia | |
• Head of the UPC's military wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) | |
• Accused of recruiting children under the age of 15 as soldiers | |
• Arrested in Kinshasa in March 2005 | |
• Held by the ICC at The Hague since 2006 | |
• Born in 1960, has a degree in psychology | |
Lubanga profile | |
The military wing of the UPC, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), was one of six militias which fought for control of gold-rich Ituri until 2003. | |
The conflict began as a local struggle for control of land and resources, and escalated as arms proliferated and members of the Ugandan army became involved. | |
The dispute became a battle between the Hema and Lendu communities, in which an estimated 50,000 people died and hundreds of thousands were made homeless. |