French court sentences ex-DR Congo rebel and politician to 30 years in jail

A French court has sentenced a former rebel leader and politician from the Democratic Republic of Congo to 30 years in jail after finding him guilty of complicity in crimes against humanity more than two decades ago.

Roger Lumbala headed a rebel movement backed by neighbouring Uganda accused of committing atrocities during a period known as the Second Congo War.

The judge said the 67-year-old was found guilty of ordering or aiding and abetting torture and inhumane crimes, summary executions, rape constituting torture, sexual slavery, forced labour and theft.

Lumbala, who was living in France when he was arrested nearly five years ago, has refused to accept the legitimacy of the court in Paris.

He did not attend the trial, which began last month, though he was in the dock to hear the verdict on Monday.

Lumbala also served as a minister in DR Congo's transitional government from 2003 to 2005 and later as a member of parliament.

Several years later the Congolese government issued an arrest warrant for him over his alleged support for the M23, a rebel group currently active in the eastern DR Congo, prompting him to flee to France.

The Second Congo War, which raged from 1998-2003, involved nine countries, numerous rebel groups and led to the estimated deaths of between two and five million people.

At the time Lumbala led the Rally of Congolese Democrats and Nationalists (RCD-N), which allegedly carried out atrocities during a campaign between 2002 and 2003 called "Erase the Slate".

The operation targeted members of the Nande and Bambuti ethnic groups in the north-eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu who were accused of supporting a rival militia.

A UN team that investigated in its aftermath said it was characterised by "premeditated operations using looting, rape and summary execution as tools of warfare".

Lumbala's case was prosecuted under the principle of "universal jurisdiction", which allows French courts to seek justice related to crimes against humanity committed abroad.

Five non-governmental organisations, including Trial International and the Clooney Foundation for Justice, pooled their expertise to participate in the trial, helping support survivors to testify and requesting expert analyses.

Trial International, a Geneva-based justice campaign group, said 65 survivors, witnesses and experts testified before the court about the Erase the Slate operation.

After the verdict, it issued a statement from two of the survivors - David Karamay Kasereka and Pisco Sirikivuya Paluku.

"We were scared but came all the way here because the truth matters. For years, no one heard us," they said

"We would have preferred to face Roger Lumbala, to look him in the eyes. But this verdict marks a first step toward reclaiming pieces of ourselves that were taken from us."

During the trial Mr Kasereka, 41, described how his father and neighbours were tortured killed by Lumbala's men, the AP news agency reports.

Mr Paluku, who is a now 50-year-old nurse, told of how the rebels robbed and injured him, killed his uncle and raped his friend's wife, the AFP news agency says.

"We hope that this will serve as a lesson to those who continue to bring grief to the people of Congo, and particularly to Ituri," he told the Reuters news agency.

According to AP, Lumbala's legal team, which has 10 days to file an appeal, called the sentence excessive. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence.

Eastern DR Congo, which is rich in minerals, has been wracked by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Several peace deals going back to the 1990s have collapsed.

Over the years a number of other militia leaders, including Thomas Lubanga, Germain Katanga and Bosco Ntaganda, have been put on trial and convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for abuses committed in the east of DR Congo.

Human rights groups welcomed Monday's verdict as a milestone for further accountability in the long-running conflict there.

"This verdict is historic. For the first time, a national court has dared to confront the atrocities of the Second Congo War and show that justice can break through even after decades of impunity," Trial International's Daniele Perissi said in a statement.