By Rebecca Williams
Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Courtesy of Lois Michel.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui resumed on January 26, 2010. Originally set to start in September 2009, the ICC decided to postpone the proceedings to allow for more investigation and was then forced to postpone the proceedings again when Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert was injured in a bicycle accident on December 2, 2009.
By Rebecca William
Jean-Pierre Bemba poster in Brussels.
On December 2, 2009, the Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal Court (ICC) reversed Pre-Trial Chamber II’s August 14th decision granting Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo interim release.
The Appeals Chamber unanimously agreed that the Pre-Trial Chamber “misappreciated and disregarded relevant facts” in concluding that substantial changes in Bemba’s circumstances justified conditional interim release. More importantly, the Court specified the conditions required to grant interim release. It determined that interim release must be a “single unseverable decision” that states the specific conditions for release fully. In addition, the Court required the identification of a host country willing to take responsibility for the Defendant before interim release is granted.
By Zach Zarnow
Protest in New York City against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill
The United Nations is pressuring Uganda to abandon proposed anti-homosexual legislation. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 is sponsored by David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement. Homosexuality is already a crime in Uganda, but the bill would impose even more severe punishments for homosexual acts and would create a broad range of offenses related to “aiding or abetting” homosexuals. The bill prescribes the death penalty for “serial offenders,” HIV-positive “offenders,” or those engaging in homosexual activity with a minor or disabled person. Engaging in homosexual acts would be punishable by life in prison. The bill also bans the “promotion of homosexuality” and creates prison sentences of three to seven years for helping, counseling, or encouraging a person to engage in a homosexual act.
