ICC: Ugandan Commander found guilty of War Crimes

epa05115419 Dominic Ongwen of Uganda sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the confirmation of charges in the Hague, the Netherlands 21 January 2016. The former commander in Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebel group is facing some 70 war crimes charges brought forward by the ICC. EPA/MICHAEL KOOREN / POOL

Ugandan child soldier-turned-Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander of war has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

International Criminal Court in its ruling found Dominic Ongwen, 45, guilty of 61 charges relating to crimes including murder, sexual enslavement, abducting children, torture and pillaging carried out in the early 2000s.

In a legal first, Ongwen, who was abducted by the LRA as a child, was also convicted by the tribunal in The Hague for the crime of forced pregnancy.

“There exists no ground excluding Dominic Ongwen’s criminal responsibility. His guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt,” presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said as he read out the verdict.

He could now be imprisoned for life, though judges will address his sentencing at a later date.

His lawyers had asked for an acquittal, arguing Ongwen had suffered psychological damage as a result of being abducted as a child and was a “victim and not a victim and perpetrator at the same time”.