Pre-Trial Chamber II of the Worldwide Legal Courtroom (ICC) held on Monday {that a} listening to on costs towards Joseph Kony, a fugitive Ugandan militant who based the Lord’s Resistance Military (LRA), can happen in his absence in October 2024.
The listening to permits prosecutors to current their case in courtroom, the place a protection lawyer will signify Kony if he doesn’t seem. If the fees are confirmed, the case can solely proceed to trial if Kony is current earlier than the Trial Chamber. The courtroom dominated that the prosecution had undertaken intensive efforts to tell Kony of the fees towards him, together with large-scale media campaigns in Uganda and neighboring international locations, in addition to participating with related stakeholders and communities.
Prosecutors filed for affirmation of costs listening to towards Kony in November 2022, marking a departure from the ICC’s normal stance towards in abstentia trials. Whereas the courtroom usually doesn’t allow such proceedings, Article 61 of the Rome Statute permits for affirmation of costs hearings to proceed within the absence of the suspect if all affordable efforts to safe their look have been taken.
In a previous decision in November 2023, the courtroom held that Kony was thought-about an individual who couldn’t be discovered, and there have been causes to proceed in his absence, reminiscent of publicizing the proceedings towards him and allowing the victims to place ahead their views and considerations.
The ICC issued a warrant of arrest for Kony in July 2005, which was made public in October of the identical 12 months. Regardless of intensive efforts by authorities, worldwide organizations and civil society to find and apprehend him, Kony has evaded the courtroom for nearly 19 years. The ICC accused Kony of committing quite a few atrocities, together with homicide, enslavement, rape and significantly kidnapping youngsters to function youngster troopers or sexual slaves.
Source / Picture: jurist.org
