Ex-militia chief seeks release

2008-06-24 17:33

The Hague - Defence lawyers for former Democratic Republic of Congo militia chief Thomas Lubanga Dyilo sought his immediate release from detention on Tuesday pending the start of his UN war crimes trial.

The International Criminal Court's decision to delay the trial over procedural abuses by the prosecution entitled Lubanga to his freedom, the defence said.

"There is no legal basis today for Thomas Lubanga to be kept in detention and we are requesting his immediate release," said his lawyer, Catherine Mabille, before the tribunal.

The tribunal announced on June 13 that it was postponing the start of the Lubanga trial - which would have begun on Monday and should be the ICC's first.

This followed complaints by the defence about the prosecution withholding exculpatory evidence sourced from the UN and other non-governmental bodies in the DRC.

Abducting minors

As well as considering whether Lubanga should be released pending the determination of a new trial date, the tribunal was also faced with an appeal by the prosecution against its June 13 ruling.

Lubanga is accused of abducting minors under the age of 15 and recruiting and using child soldiers in his Union of Congolese Patriots between September 2002 and August 2003 in the war-torn DRC.

Mabille said the prosecution's confidentiality agreement with the UN over the exculpatory documents had implications "for the very functioning of international justice".

"What is the purpose of international justice - is it to search for the truth or is it to search for what the UN would want us to (think)?" she asked.

"If sources can dictate to us the policy they want us to pursue, what does that mean for the ... independence of judges and the prosecution?"

- AFP