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| |  | | Thomas Lubanga Dyilo | | | context : | DRC  | | judgement place : | ICC | | status : | Indicted | | particulars : | Arrested on charges of human rights violations in March 2005; tansferred to the ICC on 17 March 2006; indicted on 28 August 2006; charges confirmed on 29 January 2007; proceedings stayed on 13 June 2008 and release ordered on 2 July 2008; decision of stay of proceedings confirmed on appeal | | position : | Leader of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC) |
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| | | | Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is the first person in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In April 2004, the Democratic Republic of Congo referred the situation in its territory since the enter into force of the Rome Statute (1st July 2002) to the prosecutor of the ICC, in accordance with Article 14 of the Rome Statute. The Prosecutor thus had to conduct investigations in order to determine whether one or several personnes allegedly committed crimes which fall under the jurisdiction of the Court. The Congolese authorities for their part are obliged to cooperate with the ICC. The Prosecutor had already been following the situation in the DRC, and in particular in the Ituri region, since 2003.
VICTIMS PARTICIPATION
On 31 July 2006, the ICC admitted a request by three victims to participate in the proceedings against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. The court found that there was sufficient reason to believe that the three applicants, as well as the people they represent, were victims of crimes comitted by Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. It ordered all public documents regarding the proceedings to be delivered to the legal representatives of the victims.
This decision, which allows victims to participate from the beginning of the investigation, constitutes an important development regarding the role of victims of breaches of international criminal law. Neither the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yougoslavia nor the Special Court for Sierra Leone allowed for such forms of participation by victims. In the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, victims will for the first time be granted the right to explain their views and concerns to the Court, as far as their personal interests are at stake. | |    | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Congo, the democratic republic of the | | | date of birth : | | | 29.12.1960 | | | last time seen : | | | The Hague (Netherlands) | | | period of charges : | | | 09.2002 - 13.08.2003 | | | charges : | | | War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 22.10.2008 |
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