THE HAGUE, March 7, 2014 - The International Criminal Court on Friday convicted Congolese ex-militia boss Germain Katanga of war crimes for arming an ethnic militia that carried out a 2003 village massacre with guns and machetes. "The chamber by majority finds Germain Katanga guilty... of complicity in the crimes committed on February 24, 2003," said judge Bruno Cotte. Katanga was convicted of arming the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri (FRPI) who then committed murder and pillaging, but judges cleared him of rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers in the attack on Bogoro village. The verdict was only the ICC's third and its second conviction since opening its doors more than a decade ago. Katanga, 35, went on trial more than four years ago facing seven counts of war crimes and three of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the attack on the eastern Congolese village in 2003. Dressed in a grey suit, light blue shirt and black tie, Katanga stood impassively with his hands folded behind his back as the judgement was read. "The chamber finds that Katanga made a truly significant contribution in the commission of the crimes," Judge Cotte said. "His involvement allowed the militia to avail itself of the logistics," to carry out the attack on Bogoro, situated south of the mineral-rich Ituri capital of Bunia, near Lake Albert. During Katanga's trial, prosecutors alleged that Ngiti and Lendu tribes attacked Bogoro's villagers of the Hema ethnic group with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and machetes. "The attack was intended to 'wipe out' or 'raze' Bogoro village," the prosecution said. Child soldiers were used while women and girls were abducted afterwards and used as sex slaves, forced to cook and obey orders from FRPI soldiers, they said. But the ICC's judges found that although child soldiers were present in the FRPI and that sexual crimes were committed, prosecutors failed to prove Katanga's direct involvement. "The chamber was not able to confirm that Germain Katanga was present... or took part in the fighting or victory celebrations afterwards," Judge Cotte said. SOUNDBITE 1 - Bruno Cotte, ICC judge (French) "It has been established that the weapons and ammunitions allowed the operation to succeed and that Bogoro fell within only a few hours. It is likely that many crimes were committed directly with machetes, but it is the firearms that made it possible to take the population by surprise and seize the town but also to injure and kill the residents of Bogoro." SOUNDBITE 2 - Bruno Cotte, ICC judge (French): "The explosions and gunfire not only frightened the population by their high frequency and intensity, but also forced them to flee, exposing them to gun shots and forcing them to leave their possessions behind. The court has already indicated that the attack launched against the Hema involved the elimination of people - men, women and children - as well as the destruction and pillaging of their possessions, making any possibility of survival or return impossible for the survivors." SOUNDBITE 3 - Bruno Cotte, ICC judge (French): "The contribution which the accused made allowed the Ngiti fighters to assure their military superiority over their UPC adversaries and to carry out their plan to wipe out the civilian population - mainly Hema - in Bogoro." SOUNDBITE 4 - Bruno Cotte, ICC judge (French): (The court)"finds Germain Katanga guilty under article 25 (3) of the statute of complicity in crimes committed on the 24th February 2003, of murder constituting crimes against humanity, according to article 7 (1) of the statue, of murder constituting a war crime, according to article 8 (2) of the statue, an attack against the civilian population."

• published: 07 Mar 2014
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