On 10 March 2008, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision joining the cases of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, two former Congolese rebel leaders prosecuted in relation to the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The accused are being prosecuted for their alleged responsibility in the coordinated attack by the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri (FRPI) and the Front national intégrationniste (FNI) against the village of Bogoro, in Ituri (north-east DRC), on or around 24 February 2003. During or following this attack—carried out with the active participation of children under the age of 15—about 200 civilians were murdered; some of the victims were sexually assaulted and the village was pillaged. Germain Katanga, alias “Simba”, was the highest ranking commander of FRPI in the DRC, and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was the highest ranking FNI commander.

Both accused have been separately charged with numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, inhuman or cruel treatment, sexual slavery, pillaging and using children under the age of fifteen years to participate actively in hostilities.

The joinder decision comes after Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was transferred to the ICC on 7 February 2008. He had been arrested the previous day by the Congolese authorities in the DRC where he had continued to be an active member of the armed forces. Germain Katanga had earlier been surrendered to the ICC on 17 October 2007 by the authorities of the DRC.

The hearing on the confirmation of the charges in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui shall start on 21 May 2008.

Press release