Tuesday, 26 January 2010 - Defence examines participating victims away from public ears

The two participating victims recalled by the Defence are scheduled to come into the Court once again to answer additional questions. Because of the strong protective measures in place to hide the identity of the witnesses, the public is not privy to the hearing.

There are not enough rooms in the ICC so the court has had to change the hearing schedule.  Trial Chamber I sat today in the afternoon, immediately after the trial of the Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo. Both the accused are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during the attack on Bogoro, the Hema village in Ituri, on 24 February 2003.

Lubanga's defence team has raised its concerns about the nature of the trial.  In previous interviews the Lead Counsel, Ms. Catherine Mabille has vented her frustrations.  "We are currently judging, thousands of miles away from Ituri, the drama, or part of the drama that was experienced by Iturians. I wished Iturians were more involved in this judicial process than they currently are. Here you go, my message is that they cannot do much about it but I wish things had unfolded slightly differently - that they had been more involved and in a better way," she said to a  local radio  in DRC. She also argued that the Defence´s work is barely understood by the affected communities because much of it is conducted in private session.

Once again the lawyers of Mr. Thomas Lubanga must examine the witnesses in private.

The Defence case is expected to commence on Wednesday.