On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court prosecutor asked for 30 years in prison for Thomas Lubanga, former commander of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) for war crimes. The trial of the former militia leader was the first for the ICC. It started in January 2009 and was completed in August 26, 2011. Thomas Lubanga pleaded not guilty.
Thirty years in prison is the maximum penalty for Thomas Lubanga, unless the judges determine that the crimes were extremely serious. They could then impose a life sentence. On Wednesday, at the opening of the hearing, Luis Moreno Ocampo asked for a sentence that would serve as an example to others.
"The prosecutor intends to seek an exemplary punishment, severe, very severe, close to the maximum sentence. However, the prosecutor would like to propose to Thomas Lubanga one last chance to make amends. I call upon Mr. Lubanga to present to this court his sincere apologies, "said Luis Moreno Ocampo.
The victims' lawyers were scheduled to speak after the prosecutor. The date of the sentencing against Thomas Lubanga has not yet been set.
Clashes between militias for control of the north-eastern DRC have killed 60,000 people since 1999, according to NGOs. Thomas Lubanga was jailed in 2006 in The Hague. He was convicted on 14 last March for war crimes committed in 2002 and 2003. He is accused of having used child soldiers during the civil war in Ituri in north-eastern DRC. "I have always opposed such recruitment," said the former commander of the FPLC at the hearing.