DR Congo ex-militia chief seeks release pending trial
THE HAGUE (AFP) — Former Democratic Republic of Congo militia chief Thomas Lubanga Dyilo could be granted a release from detention next week after a delay in his war crimes trial, it emerged from a court hearing Tuesday.
Presiding judge Adrian Fulford said the International Criminal Court (ICC) would hand down a written judgment in an application for Lubanga's release "hopefully during the course of next week".
Lubanga, 47, is accused of abducting minors under 15 and using child soldiers in attacks by the armed wing of his Union of Congolese Patriots between September 2002 and August 2003 in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
But as his lawyers argued Tuesday for his immediate release, the prosecution warned the delay in the proceedings could be short.
"The office of the prosecutor (Luis Moreno-Ocampo) is highly confident that the problem will be resolved in the coming weeks and the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will start in September," it said in a statement.
Lubanga's lawyer Catherine Mabille told the court there was no legal basis for her client to be kept in detention. "We are requesting his immediate release," she said.
The tribunal's decision to stay the proceedings, over alleged abuses by the prosecution, provided a legal basis for his release from custody, Mabille argued.
But Ekkehard Withopf, for the prosecution, said: "There is no legal basis for the request."
A lawyer for Lubanga's alleged victims cautioned against his release.
"This case is a ball of fire that could set Ituri (a province of the DR Congo) on fire," Catherine Bapita Buyangandu told the three judges.
"The victims are afraid of vengeance. Lubanga is a hero in his community."
Lubanga's war crimes trial is the first to be heard by the ICC, but the tribunal announced on June 13 that it was postponing Monday's scheduled start.
This followed complaints by the defence that the prosecution was withholding evidence sourced from the United Nations and other non-governmental bodies in Congo.
The court found the prosecution had wrongly used a confidentiality allowance to receive information it then failed to share with the defence.
This "misuse" prevented Lubanga preparing a proper defence, it said, with more than 200 potentially exculpatory documents not disclosed.
Mabille claimed the prosecution's failure to give the defence access to the UN-sourced documents had implications "for the very functioning of international justice".
"What is the purpose of international justice -- is it to search for the truth or is it to search for what the UN would want us to (think)?" she asked.
"If sources can dictate to us the policy they want us to pursue, what does that mean for the ... independence of judges and the prosecution?"
A letter from the UN offered to give the trial judges access to the disputed documents under tight conditions. The mass of documents could be reviewed under UN supervision, without the judges being allowed to make notes in the review room.
But Fulford said such an arrangement might not be workable, as it would depend on the judges' "ability to memorise large quantities of information".
Dressed smartly in a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, the former rebel chief sat quietly at the back of the courtroom listening to the arguments under constant guard.
