Media Advisory: 22 March 2013

Initial appearance of Bosco Ntaganda scheduled for 26 March 2013

ICC-CPI-20130322-MA138

Situation: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Case: The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda


The initial appearance of Bosco Ntaganda before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is scheduled for Tuesday, 26 March 2013 at 11:00 (The Hague local time).

During the initial appearance hearing, the Judges of Pre-Trial Chamber II will verify the identity of the suspect and the language in which he is able to follow the proceedings. Mr Ntaganda will be informed of the charges against him. The Judges will also schedule 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.

On 22 March 2013, Bosco Ntaganda surrendered himself voluntarily and is now in the ICC’s custody. Two warrants of arrest have been issued by the ICC for Bosco Ntaganda for seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ituri (Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1 September 2002 and the end of September 2003.

For further information on the case, click here.

Attending the hearing

Individuals wishing to cover the hearing are kindly requested to confirm their attendance by email to: [email protected].  Attendees must present a valid passport or valid ID with a photo at the public entrance of the Court, located at Regulusweg (The Hague, Netherlands).

Webstreaming

The hearing can be followed on the ICC website at:

AV materials

Filming or photography is strictly prohibited inside the Court building. However pictures of the hearing will be posted on the Court’s Flickr account.

The entire hearing will be available for download on an FTP server in video (MPEG-4) and audio (MPEG-3) format, one hour after the hearing. An “In the Courtroom” audio-visual programme about the hearing will be available for download on an FTP server, and for viewing on the official ICC YouTube Channel, the same day.

Media Centre

For media representatives wishing to use the Court’s media facilities, the media centre will open from 10:00 until 90 minutes after the end of the proceedings.

The area can sit up to 64 people and includes plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with internet access; 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. For external calls, journalists are advised to purchase 0800 pre-paid phone cards beforehand. Such cards are available at newsagents and train stations. Please note that phone cards cannot be obtained in the vicinity of, or at, the ICC.

Feed for the SNG trucks

SNG trucks can record the signal from the Courtroom from the distribution box placed in the media parking facilities (see below). Please note that there is no power supply available at the car park and that it is therefore necessary to have a generator.

Parking facilities

Parking facilities are available for media representatives at the Wegastraat car-park.

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

For more information on AV materials, please contact Violeta Willemsen-Curcic, AV Producer, International Criminal Court, by telephone at +31 (0)70 515-8422 or by e-mail at: [email protected]

You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter