ICC orders release of Lubanga

Lubanga's release casts a shadow over the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Rome Statute, the document which laid the foundations for the establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 2002. The case against the Congolese militia leader was to have been the first trial conducted by the ICC. Lubanga was charged with war crimes including press-ganging and deploying child soldiers.

However, the judges recently decide to call a halt to the case. The prosecution apparently had evidence in its possession which had not been seen by the defence. Most of it consisted of UN documents which cannot be published. The judges determined that this made a free and fair trial impossible.

Continued detention
The question remains just when Lubanga, who has been held in custody in The Hague since 2006, will actually be released. The prosecution has five days to submit an appeal against the decision. The final say then passes to the judges of the Appeals Chamber.

If and when he is finally released, Lubanga will initially have to remain in the Netherlands. The United Nations has imposed a travel ban on the former militia leader and he has no official travel documents. A country will subsequently have to be found which is prepared to receive and house him.

Fair trial
Lubanga's release has provoked strong reactions. The Coalition for the ICC, an association of human rights organisations, called the decision a major blow for the people in Congo who worked to get Lubanga put on trial. However, the coalition's chairman, William Pace, points out that the ruling at least shows the ICC judges are determined to meet the high standards demanded of a fair trial.
"The publishing and sharing of evidence is one of the most problematic aspects of international justice. The independence of the judges is the most important factor affecting the level of international support for the Court."

The international human rights organisation WITNESS said the release was extremely disturbing and that it was incomprehensible for all the people who have risked their lives to testify against Lubanga and that it was incomprehensible that the court was incapable of obtaining justice for the thousands of children abused as child soldiers.

Reprisals
Lubanga's progress at the court is also being followed avidly by interested parties in Congo. Lubanga's victims and those who were ready to give evidence against him are afraid of reprisals if he is freed. His supporters and the children who fought in his militia will regard Lubanga's release as legitimising the brutal conflict in which they were involved in Uturi, the eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo is one of the prominent guests today at the celebrations for the anniversary of the Rome Statute. For him and the other guests, the judges' decision to abandon the first case to be tried by the Court and to release Lubanga must have been a painful one. It is bound to put a damper on the celebrations.

* RNW translation (imm)