ICC-CPI-20140506-MA159
Today, 6 May 2014, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it will deliver the sentence in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga on 23 May 2013 at 09:30 (The Hague local time) during a public hearing at the seat of the Court in The Hague (Netherlands). This date was announced at a hearing held on 5-6 May 2014 during which the parties and participants to the trial presented their submissions relevant to the sentence to be imposed on Germain Katanga before the ICC judges.
According to the Court's legal texts, the judges may impose a sentence of imprisonment to which they could add a fine or forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived directly or indirectly from the crimes. A sentence cannot exceed a maximum of 30 years, except when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person, in which case, a sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed. The number of years a person has previously spent in detention by the Court will be deducted from the sentence imposed by the judges.
Background: Germain Katanga was transferred to The Hague on 17 October 2007 and his trial started on 24 November 2009. On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II convicted Germain Katanga, as an accessory, of one count of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes committed during the attack on the village of Bogoro, Ituri (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), on 24 February 2003. The Chamber acquitted Germain Katanga of the other charges that he was facing. The Prosecutor and the Defence have appealed the Judgment. Decisions on the victim reparations will be rendered at a later stage, in due course.
Further information on this case is available here.