18 Dec 2012

THE HAGUE / NGUDJOLO ACQUITTAL

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today found Congolese national Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui 'not guilty' of war crimes allegedly committed as the leader of a militia during armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003, due to insufficient evidence. ICC

Posted at: December 18, 2012 4:00 pm

Duration: 02:17

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: THE HAGUE / NGUDJOLO ACQUITTAL 
TRT: 2:17 
SOURCE: ICC 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE 
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / NATS 
  
DATELINE: 18 DECEMBER 2012, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, court chamber 
2. Wide shot, judges enter the Chamber 
3. Wide shot, judges 
4. Wide short, judges sit down 
5. Wide shot, presiding judge Bruno Cotte 
6. Wide shot, court 
7. Pan left, court 
8. Med shot, two judges 
9. Close up, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui 
10. Wide shot, court 
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Cotte, Presiding Judge: 
"Accordingly, the Chamber is dismissing all charges against Mathieu Ngudjolo; it orders the Registrar to take the necessary measures for the immediate release of Mathieu Ngudjolo, and orders the Unit for the protection of witnesses to take the necessary steps, in accordance with article 68,  to continue the protection of witnesses."
12. Wide shot, court 
13. Wide shot, judges leaving 
14. Wide shot, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui 
15. Wide shot, court

STORYLINE:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today (18 December) found Congolese national Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui 'not guilty' of war crimes allegedly committed as the leader of a militia during armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003.

The decision was read by the Presiding Judge Bruno Cotte of France.

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, a Congolese national, was charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of war crimes allegedly committed in the context of an armed conflict in Ituri, during the attack against the Bogoro village on 24 February 2003.

Judge Cotte explained that in view of the evidence before the Chamber as well as the testimonies of witnesses, it had not been proven that Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was the commander of the Lendu combatants from Bedu-Ezekere during the attack against the Bogoro village on 24 February 2003.

As a result, the Chamber was of the view that the Prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was responsible for the crimes allegedly committed during the attack. Hence, the judges decided to acquit the accused. 
  
In a press release issued today, the Chamber emphasised, however, that the approach it adopted did not mean that no crimes were committed in Bogoro on 24 February 2012, nor that it questioned "what the people of this community have suffered on that day". The Chamber stressed that the fact of deciding that an accused is not guilty does not necessarily mean that the Chamber finds him innocent. Such a decision "simply demonstrates that, given the standard of proof, the evidence presented to support his guilt has not allowed the Chamber to form a conviction 'beyond reasonable doubt'", it said. 
  
SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Cotte, Presiding Judge: 
"Accordingly, the Chamber is dismissing all charges against Mathieu Ngudjolo; it orders the Registrar to take the necessary measures for the immediate release of Mathieu Ngudjolo, and orders the Unit for the protection of witnesses to take the necessary steps, in accordance with article 68, to continue the protection of witnesses."

Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui were transferred to the ICC detention centre in The Hague (Netherlands) on 17 October 2007 and 7 February 2008, respectively. Their cases were joined on 10 March 2008 and their trial started on 24 November 2009. Closing statements from trial parties and participants were heard from 15 to 23 May 2012. On 21 November 2012, Trial Chamber II decided to sever the charges against Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga. The verdict in the case against Germain Katanga will be delivered at a later stage. 
  
The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.