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Ugandan war crime suspect Ongwen arrives at ICC prison for future hearing

Xinhua, January 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Dominic Ongwen, commander of the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, arrived Wednesday at the detention center of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the ICC said.

Ongwen left on Tuesday the Central African Republic, where he was arrested last week and transferred to the ICC's custody.

"Dominic Ongwen's transfer brings us one step closer to ending the LRA's reign of terror in the African Great Lakes region," The ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a press release.

"For more than a quarter of a century, the LRA under Joseph Kony and his high command, including Ongwen, has terrorized the people of northern Uganda and neighboring countries," Bensouda added.

"The LRA has reportedly killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people, terrorized civilians, abducted children and forced them to kill and serve as sex slaves," she said.

The ICC had issued an warrant for Ongwen's arrest on July 8, 2005 over crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in 2004 in the long-lasting civil war in Uganda.

According to the ICC statement, Ongwen will receive a medical visit and will appear, as soon as possible, before the ICC judges in the presence of a defense lawyer. The date of the initial appearance hearing will be announced soon.

The judges will also fix a date for the opening of the confirmation of charges hearing, a preliminary step to decide whether the case will be referred to a trial or not.

Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo, who are still on the run, are the other Ugandan LRA commanders indicted by the ICC. Endit