ICC appeals judges greenlight first in absentia hearing over Ugandan rebel leader Kony
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court gave a final greenlight Tuesday for the tribunal's first in absentia hearing by allowing the next step in proceedings against notorious fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.
The Hague-based court has scheduled a so-called confirmation of charges hearing at which prosecutors will present evidence in September to back up charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Kony, despite his whereabouts being unknown.
Kony, the leader of the brutal Lord's Resistance Army, faces dozens of counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, sexual enslavement and rape.
The ICC's rules do not allow trials entirely in absentia but can in some circumstances move forward with a confirmation of charges even if the suspect is not in custody.
Kony's court appointed lawyers had argued his fair trial rights would be violated if the proceedings continued without their client.
Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin said the court has 'adequately robust safeguards' for suspects to allow the confirmation of charges hearing to be held in absentia.
The case had been seen as a trial balloon for the court moving forward with other cases where the suspect is not in custody, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, the Kony decision was limited to situations where the wanted person has fled ICC custody or cannot be found, says Luigi Prosperi, an international criminal law expert at the University of Utrecht. Kony 'is a very peculiar situation,' he told The Associated Press.
Kony was thrust into the global spotlight in 2012 when a video about his alleged crimes went viral. Despite the attention and international efforts to capture him, he is still at large.
The LRA began its attacks in Uganda in the 1980s, when Kony sought to overthrow the government. After being pushed out of Uganda, the militia terrorized villages in Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. It was notorious for using child soldiers, mutilating civilians and enslaving women.
In 2021, the court convicted Dominic Ongwen, a one-time child soldier who morphed into a brutal LRA commander of dozens of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ranging from multiple murders to forced marriages.
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Land management decisions for commercial timber have also created some dense forests of small trees, making them wildfire prone and water thirsty, according to Williams-Claussen. 'I know a lot of people would look at the forested hillsides around here and be like, 'It's beautiful, it's forested.' But see that old growth on the hill, like way up there?' asked Sarah Beesley, fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe, sitting on a rock in Blue Creek. 'There's like one or two of those." Fire bans, invasive plants and encroachment of unmanaged native species have contributed to loss of prairies, historically home to abundant elk and deer herds and where the Yurok gathered plants for cultural and medicinal uses. Western Rivers Conservancy bought and conveyed land to the tribe in phases. The $56 million for the conservation deal came from private capital, low interest loans, tax credits, public grants and carbon credit sales that will continue to support restoration. Restoration plans The tribe aims to restore historic prairies by removing invasive species and encroaching native vegetation. The prairies are important food sources for elk and the mardon skipper butterfly, said Kling from the conservancy. Trees removed from prairies will be used as logjams for creeks to create habitat for frogs, fish and turtles. The tribe will reintroduce fire to aid in prairie restoration and reestablish forest diversity and mature forests to help imperiled species bounce back. Members know its going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. 'And maybe all that's not going to be done in my lifetime,' said McCovey, the fisheries director. 'But that's fine, because I'm not doing doing this for myself.' ___
