Comments
On March 7, 2014, a majority of Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga case found (French language) Katanga guilty as an accessory to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property, and pillaging). The crimes were committed on February 24, 2003 during the attack on Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In her dissent, Judge Van den Wyngaert reasoned that the Trial Chamber’s recharacterization of Katanga’s mode of liability violated the rights of the Accused and that Katanga’s guilt had not been established beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the press release, the Trial Chamber will subsequently render decisions on sentencing and victim reparations, and the parties have thirty days to appeal.
An English language summary of the Judgment is available here.