The ICC sentences Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier and Ugandan rebel leader, to 25 years in prison

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a former Ugandan child soldier and former commander of the Christian extremist organization Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), to 25 years in prison. The amount of the penalty is significant due to his dual status as victim and executioner. Ongwen was found guilty last February of 61 war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially the forced marriage and subsequent pregnancy of girls turned into sex slaves, considered for the first time within the scope of the ICC.

But he himself is also a victim of violence perpetrated by the militia of which he later became a part. Kidnapped at the age of nine by the rebels of Joseph Kony - founder of the LRA -, Ongwen suffered the cruel methods of training minors forced to fight in armed conflicts. The judges have taken into account his past, although they have considered it proven that he committed the crimes as an adult and in full use of his mental faculties.

Ongwen's case has created a moral dilemma for judges, who have recognized the mitigating circumstances of a harsh past that ended his education as a promising child. "He could have become a very valuable member for the future of his community," says the ruling, which also qualifies as demonstrated "his suffering as a child soldier during the first years of his abduction," according to Bertram Schmitt, president of the room.

However, it is equally true that "he was not a subordinate of Joseph Kony, who could have escaped his situation, but chose to rise in the military, and committed several of the crimes in privacy and on his own," he added. The judges have pointed out the kidnapping of boys, which he later turned into his personal guard, and that of girls, "forced into marriage and giving birth to their children and serving him, thus committing a sexual and gender crime."

The penalty has been imposed by a majority, and although the ruling details the years in prison corresponding to each of the 61 charges, the 25 years in prison are a joint penalty for all of them.

One of the judges requested 30 years in prison, but Schmitt stressed that "the seriousness of the crimes and the suffering of the victims have been recognized, and Ongwen has been given the opportunity to rebuild his life in some way."

More information

• Forcing marriage and pregnancy is also a crime in war

The drama of children recruited in wars is not confined to Uganda, but is a recurring phenomenon in other armed conflicts, and the judges acknowledge that Ongwen went through bloody rituals.

These include killing other children in the same situation who would like to run away, including their own siblings, and adults as well.

At the same time, the sentence underlines that he inflicted indescribable pain on his victims during his coming of age, and that among the other proven crimes were house burning, destruction and looting. For all these reasons, the victims represented during the process asked for life imprisonment. In a closing statement, Judge Schmitt himself has acknowledged that making a decision in this case has been challenging given Ongwen's unique personal circumstances. “Some victims may disagree, and the defense may think the same, and it's understandable. But as judges, we owe ourselves to the requirements of the law, to our conscience, and today the work begins so that the victims are compensated ”, said the president of the court.