Germain Katanga | |
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Born | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Other names | Simba |
Known for | Indicted 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]