The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court upheld a decision to acquit Mathieu Ngudjolo, the leader of a Congolese militia, of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Friday.
Prosecutors challenged a 2012 ruling which found Mr Ngudjolo not guilty on charges of murder, rape and pillaging in relation to a 2003 massacre in the eastern Democratic republic of Congo. The attack had left 200 people dead.
Whilst admitting that mistakes in assessing the evidence may have been made during the 2012 trial, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said that “the trial chambers errors had no material impact on the acquittal decision."
Commenting on the verdict, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said although it “brings the case to a close”,
“The decision does not negate the fact that crimes were committed in Bogoro or the suffering of the victims... My Office spared no effort in the prosecution of the case and exhausted all judicial remedies available to it.”
“My Office remains most committed to bringing an end to impunity for mass crimes perpetrated in the situation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” she added.
“This crucial work will continue unabated.”
Prosecutors challenged a 2012 ruling which found Mr Ngudjolo not guilty on charges of murder, rape and pillaging in relation to a 2003 massacre in the eastern Democratic republic of Congo. The attack had left 200 people dead.
Whilst admitting that mistakes in assessing the evidence may have been made during the 2012 trial, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said that “the trial chambers errors had no material impact on the acquittal decision."
Commenting on the verdict, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said although it “brings the case to a close”,
“The decision does not negate the fact that crimes were committed in Bogoro or the suffering of the victims... My Office spared no effort in the prosecution of the case and exhausted all judicial remedies available to it.”
“My Office remains most committed to bringing an end to impunity for mass crimes perpetrated in the situation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” she added.
“This crucial work will continue unabated.”