Closing statements in the trial against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui scheduled to start on 15 May 2012
Situation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Case: The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has set the timetable for the closing written submissions in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, and conveyed the parties and participants to present their closing oral statements in a public hearing that will start on 15 May 2012. The timetable takes into account the time required for the translation of the final submissions.
According to the Chamber’s order issued on 4 January 2012 the Prosecution and the Legal Representation of Victims shall file their written closing submissions no later than 20 February 2012. The two teams of the Defence have been given until 26 March 2012 to reply to such submissions. The final submissions shall address the contextual elements of crimes against humanity and war crimes, the facts which form the basis of the alleged crimes together with the criminal responsibility of the accused.
As indicated in the Trial Chamber’s order setting the timetable, the parties and participants should be prepared at the closing hearings to entertain questions from Trial Chamber II composed of Judges Bruno Cotte (presiding), Fatoumata Dembele Diarra and Christine Van den Wyngaert, when their closing statements are delivered orally.
Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Congolese nationals, are charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of war crimes allegedly committed in the context of an armed conflict in Ituri which began in Djugu territory and in the town of Mongbwalu, and in particular during the joint attack by combatants allegedly led by Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga on Bogoro village on 24 February, 2003, which was part of a widespread attack and was allegedly directed not only against a military camp located in that village, but also against the civilian population of the village. The trial started on 24 November 2009.
Further information on this case is available here.
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 by e-mail at: [email protected].
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