Germain Katanga

Germain Katanga
Born (1978-04-28) 28 April 1978 (age 46)
Mambasa, Orientale Province, Zaire
Nationality D.R. Congo
Other namesSimba
Known forIndicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity

Germain Katanga (French pronunciation: [ʒɛʁmɛ̃ katɑ̃ɡa]; born 28 April 1978), also known as Simba (pronounced [sɛ̃ba]), is a former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI), an armed group in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).[1][2] On 17 October 2007, the Congolese authorities surrendered him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stand trial on six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity.[1][3] The charges include murder, sexual slavery, rape, destruction of property, pillaging, willful killing, and directing crimes against civilians.[4]

On 7 March 2014, Katanga was convicted by the ICC on five counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity as an accessory to the February 2003 massacre in the village of Bogoro.[5] The verdict was the second-ever conviction in the 12 years of operation of the ICC, following the 2012 conviction of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.[6]

  1. ^ a b International Criminal Court (2 July 2007). "Warrant of arrest for Germain Katanga" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF 202 KB) on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  2. ^ International Criminal Court (19 October 2007). Statement by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, during the press conference regarding the arrest of Germain Katanga Archived 2007-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 21 October 2007.
  3. ^ International Criminal Court (18 October 2007). Second arrest: Germain Katanga transferred into the custody of the ICC Archived 2007-06-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 21 October 2007.
  4. ^ Article Title
  5. ^ Germain Katanga: Guilty of war crimes, the brutal warlord who terrorized the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Independent, 07 March, 2014. Accessed 08 March, 2014
  6. ^ Katanga found guilty over war crimes, Irish Times, 08 March, 2014. Accessed 08 march, 2014