Ex-Congolese Militia Leader Sentenced to 12 Years for War Crimes

The International Criminal Court sentenced former Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga to 12 years in jail Friday, the BBC reports.

Katanga was found guilty in March of one crime against humanity and four war crimes. He’s only the second person to have been convicted by the Netherlands-based court.

The ICC found that Katanga, 36, was behind the massacre of hundreds of people in a village in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003. The battles escalated into an inter-ethnic conflict in which up to 50,000 people were killed.

Katanga was convicted of “accessory to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging)” by the ICC. He was also found guilty of procuring weapons that were used to kill villagers, but he was acquitted of direct involvement in any mass killings.

Katanga was also acquitted of using child soldiers, selling women into sexual slavery and rape.

The judge in the case said that the more than six years Katanga has already spent in custody, as well as his role in helping with the demobilization of child soldiers, was taken into account during his sentencing.

[BBC]