ICC allows absentee hearing in case against Ugandan warlord Kony

International Criminal Court (ICC) judges ruled on Monday that prosecutors can hold a hearing on charges against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony in his absence on October 15.

Kony is the founder and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the longest-serving fugitive from the International Criminal Court. A warrant was issued for his arrest in 2005.

ICC prosecutors are seeking to charge Kony with 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, the use of child soldiers, sexual slavery, forced marriage and forced pregnancy.

Led by Kony, 62, the Lord’s Resistance Army has sown fear among Ugandans for nearly two decades, fighting with President Yoweri Museveni from its bases in northern Uganda and neighboring countries. Museveni’s government campaign. It has now been largely eliminated.

According to the United Nations, approximately 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

According to prosecutors, Kony had ultimate authority over the entire Lord’s Resistance Army and led a coordinated campaign to abduct children to induct them into the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Documents containing the charges say abducted children were subjected to an “elaborate and coordinated system of physical and psychological violence” and were sometimes forced to beat and even kill other abductees.

Kony, who remains at large, has said he is innocent of the charges against him.

In late 2022, ICC prosecutor Karim Kahn requested a hearing on the case to provide a “meaningful milestone” for the victims and to showcase the depth of evidence gathered against Kony.

It is the first time since the court became a legal reality in 2002 that ICC judges have allowed so-called confirmation of charge hearings to be held without the suspect’s presence, which could have implications for other cases involving fugitives.

Other high-profile ICC fugitives include Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted for kidnapping children in Ukraine, and former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bas, who is wanted for alleged genocide in Darfur. Hill.

Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine, and Sudanese authorities dismissed a court order in 2009 when they issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir.