DR Congo's Bosco Ntaganda pleads not guilty at ICC trial

Former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda has pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of his war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

The  18 charges include murder, rape and the recruitment of child soldiers.

On 22 August 2006 he was charged with three counts of war crimes:

1. Enlisting children, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute;
2. Conscription of children, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute;
3. Using children to participate in hostilities, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute.

On 14 July 2012, he was additionally charged with three crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes:

1. Murder, constituting a crime against humanity in violation of article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute;
2. Rape and sexual slavery, constituting crimes against humanity in violation of article 7(1)(g) of the Rome Statute;
3. Persecution, constitution a crime against humanity in violation of article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute;
4. Murder, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute;
5. Attack against the civilian population, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(e)(i) of the Rome Statute;
6. Rape and sexual slavery, constituting war crimes in violation of article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Rome Statute;
7. Pillaging, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(e)(v) of the Rome Statute.

The 41-year-old is accused of killing at least 800 civilians during separate attacks on a number of villages between 2002 and 2003

He is also accused of raping girl soldiers and keeping them as sex slaves.


Evidence has been gathered from more than 2,000 alleged victims, including former child soldiers.

Nicknamed "The Terminator", Gen Ntaganda's trial is the biggest and most complex case in the ICC's history.

He fought for different rebel groups as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo's army.


Note
In 2013, Gen Ntaganda handed himself in at the US embassy in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
He had evaded capture for seven years after the ICC first issued warrants for his arrest.
Bosco Ntaganda was part of the UCP rebel group, led by Thomas Lubanga, who in 2014 became the first person to be convicted by the ICC.
Gen Ntaganda was one of the leaders of the M23 rebel movement, which had fought government troops until signing a peace deal in 2013