Office of the Prosecutor Appeals against Release in the Lubanga Trial

Earlier this week, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) submitted an urgent appeal seeking to overturn a Trial Chamber’s order to release the ICC defendant Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

The release order came upon the heels of a refusal by the OTP to follow a court order demanding the release of the name of an OTP employee in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the defense.

The OTP resisted release of the information because it believed that it would result in an unacceptable level of risk to the life and safety of the OTP employee. However, the judges rejected this argument and stayed further proceedings in the trial because of the failure of the OTP to follow its orders.

The OTP is concurrently appealing against this stay of proceedings by the Trial Chamber.

Lubanga is accused of three counts of war crimes surrounding the alleged use of child soldiers within his former militia in the Ituri region of Eastern Congo. He is the first person to be tried before the ICC. Photo Credit: Taratur

Update 23-7-10 at 11:08: The Appeals Chamber has issued a decision suspending the Trial Chamber's release order until the Appeals Chamber can rule on the OTP's appeal against the stay of proceedings. The effect is that Lubanga will remain in custody during this process.