DR Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga sentenced to 14 years
Thomas Lubanga has been behind bars since March 2006
Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for
recruiting and using child soldiers in his rebel army in 2002 and 2003.
He was convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March - the
first conviction since the court was set up 10 years ago.
Lubanga had protested his innocence and said he had not supported the use of
child soldiers.
But in a unanimous decision, the judges said Lubanga was responsible.
Lubanga showed no emotion as the presiding judge read out the sentence.
Judge Adrian Fulford told the court in The Hague that, taking into account
the time Lubanga has already spent in jail, he will effectively spend eight
more years behind bars.
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 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
Campaign group Human Rights Watch says more than 60,000 people were killed
in the conflict between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in Ituri, in
north-eastern DR Congo.
In June, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was asking for a
"severe sentence" of 30 years.
He said the prosecution was requesting a sentence "in the name of each child
recruited, in the name of the Ituri region".
The conviction of Lubanga is linked to current unrest in DR Congo.
Rebel forces are advancing towards the country's main eastern city of Goma.
They are headed by Gen Bosco Ntaganda, who is also wanted for war crimes by
the ICC.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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