Congolese Warlord In Custody at The Hague
by VOA News March 22, 2013
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken Congolese war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda into custody, four days after he turned himself in at the U.S. embassy in Rwanda.
ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah said a plane carrying Ntaganda left the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Friday.
''He is being accompanied by an ICC team onboard,' the spokesman said. 'He's left Rwanda and will arrive at the ICC's detention center at The Hague in the Netherlands,' el-Abdallah said.
The ICC says Ntganada will make his initial appearance in court on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the transfer as 'an important moment for all who believe in justice and accountability.' In a statement, Kerry said Ntaganda's expected appearance before the ICC will contribute to the goal of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ntaganda is charged with 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court says that as leader of an armed group in the eastern D.R.C., Ntaganda was criminally responsible for the use of child soldiers and acts of murder, rape and sexual slavery.
His alleged co-conspirator, Thomas Lubanga, has been tried and convicted by the ICC and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Ntaganda walked into the U.S. embassy in Kigali on Monday, after his faction of the Congolese rebel group M23 was routed by fighters under a rival commander.
There was some speculation Rwanda might try to block his transfer to the ICC, because of the country's alleged support for M23.
But Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo confirmed on her Twitter account that Ntaganda had left Kigali.
Mushikiwabo said Friday that the government 'provided requested cooperation to the U.S. and Dutch governments who worked on this transfer.'
Rwanda has denied supporting M23.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
