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Ex-child soldier jailed for 25 years for war crimes

Ex-child soldier jailed for 25 years for war crimes

ANTHONY DEUTSCH and ELIAS BIRYABAREMA THE International Criminal Court (ICC) today sentenced a former Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to 25 years in prison for crimes including rape, sexual enslavement, child abduction, torture and murder. Dominic Ongwen, who was taken into ICC custody in 2015, was convicted in February of 61 out of 70 alleged crimes. In many, the victims were women and children. Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said the panel had considered sentencing Ongwen to life imprisonment, the court's harshest punishment, but decided against it due to his own suffering.…
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No apology from ex-warlord

No apology from ex-warlord

A former Ugandan child soldier who became one of the top commanders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army told judges at the International Criminal Court yesterday that he was not responsible for any atrocities and felt powerless to stop them. In a defiant, sometimes meandering, unsworn statement to the court, Dominic Ongwen cast himself as a victim, saying he could not ask forgiveness for his alleged crimes because he was not responsible for them. LRA warlord Joseph Kony in 2011. Picture: Adambearne/Flickr "I cannot ask everyone in northern Uganda for forgiveness when there were other people in northern Uganda who…
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Ex-Ugandan warlord faces 20 years in jail

Ex-Ugandan warlord faces 20 years in jail

PROSECUTORS yesterday asked the International Criminal Court to sentence a former Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army to at least 20 years in prison. Dominic Ongwen, who was arrested in 2015, was convicted in February of dozens of crimes including rape, sexual enslavement, child abductions, torture and murder. In a special hearing to discuss Ongwen's punishment, prosecutors dismissed defence calls for a sentence of no more than 10 years and their argument that Ongwen is a victim because he was himself abducted as a child to fight in the LRA. Ongwen pleaded not…
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Child victim, soldier, war criminal: unpacking Dominic Ongwen’s journey

Child victim, soldier, war criminal: unpacking Dominic Ongwen’s journey

DOMINIC Ongwen, a former Ugandan child soldier, has been convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Three judges found him guilty of 61 of 70 charges. These ranged from the war crime of the forced conscription of child soldiers to the crime against humanity of forced pregnancy. KJELL ANDERSON, Assistant professor and Director of the Master of Human Rights program, University of Manitoba The presiding judge, Bertram Schmitt, read aloud the names of dozens of his victims in a stark reminder of the human consequences of Ongwen’s acts. Ongwen was impassive as the verdict was read out, only…
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ICC to hand down judgment against former Lord’s Resistance Army commander

ICC to hand down judgment against former Lord’s Resistance Army commander

STEPHANIE VAN DER BERG WAR crimes judges will today deliver their verdict in the case of Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier turned top commander in the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group known for extreme violence and forcing women into sexual slavery. Ongwen, 45, faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and could be imprisoned for life if convicted. Judges will not address sentencing on Thursday. The ruling at the International Criminal Court will be the first dealing with crimes by the LRA, New York-based Human Rights Watch said. It highlights the difficulty of trying somebody…
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