#Ongwen will soon be delivering his unsworn statement (at the start of the defence arguments in the sentencing hearings). I would imagine the main goal is to produce empathy for Ongwen's experience by putting the judges/public inside his perspective. #ICC
#Ongwen removing his mask and standing to speak (maybe he will sit after a while on account of his injured leg...) #ICC
#Ongwen “I was not feeling well during the proceedings. From the onset I did not consider myself a human because what I was going through, the people in the detention centre know what I was going through at that time…” #ICC
"I only understood 40-60% of what was said" (in the courtroom "I am only now able to address you because I was undergoing EDMR treatment." "It makes me see hallucinations" "It makes me collapse" Now he is better with the treatment intensity reduced. #Ongwen #ICC
#Ongwen "the rules regarding escape and other rules were disseminated to us...the first thing you were told is 'do not escape'...they would make you kill your own parents so that you do not escape." #ICC
#Ongwen says he was ordered to kill someone tied to a tree when he was first abducted. Also, to disembowel the victims, to hang their intestines on the tree, and around their own neck. He was forced to eat beans mixed with victims' blood. #ICC
#Ongwen: I was the first victim of child abduction in northern Uganda." [this is not accurate, though he was certainly an early victim] #ICC
#Ongwen “I was told many things in the bush. I was given a stone to go to the battlefield. It was called a stone bomb." He prayed and "when I went to the battlefield" the stone "went off like a bomb." #ICC
#Ongwen "what [suffering] happened to me did not even happen to Jesus Christ..I went through a lot." "Carrying extraordinary loads, walking long distances...hunger, thirst...climbing very high mountains, clearing very thick bush, beatings, internal imprisonment..." #ICC
#Ongwen claims to have been shot 11 times "these eleven bullets would have killed an elephant." #ICC
#Ongwen "How come I'm still alive...what's the meaning of this? How am I special? .... when I went to battle I went with the intention of being killed. Most of the battles I went to, I went with anger, I went with resentment. I was unlucky to not get killed..." #ICC
#Ongwen "It's a mystery to me" why he did not get killed for attempting to escape where others were killed for such attempts. #ICC
#Ongwen was referred to as one of "silindi's soldiers" and this is why it was forbidden to kill him [Silindi was one of Kony's spirits] #ICC
#Ongwen "I'm very religious...they give me three priests I meet from time to time and we discuss about God" [I'm not sure if these 3 include those spiritual figures from Uganda visiting him regularly in the detention centre] #ICC
#Ongwen: referring to person in LRA who dissuaded him from returning home and who testified before court. Says that he will reveal name if asked... [I can guess it could be any one of a handful of surviving senior commanders/mentors Ongwen had in LRA] #ICC
I believe this was a misstatement and he was likely referring to EMDR treatment (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
#Ongwen: people who abducted him not in court (especially Kony). "there are other people who did worse things than I did." #ICC
#Ongwen is quite loquacious and alert here. He has obviously been waiting to speak. "What is Ongwen, is he human or is he not human?" #ICC
#Ongwen: "If I was not abducted, I would have finished my education" If he could defy the spirits "I would have stopped all these things, but because I did not have the capacity, I did not have the strength, all these things happened." #ICC
#Ongwen: "when did these international rules come into effect?...People who protect other people, why did they not protect me too?...My abduction, was it God's plan, or was it a human plan?" #ICC
#Ongwen: "there are some terrorists like Osama Bin Ladin, and did you hear they surrendered like I did?" "I am not one responsible for killing" "I am not the one responsible for marrying these women" #ICC
#Ongwen "when I came out into the world, the world snatched me with a rope around my neck...was it good for me to come out or would I be better off staying the bush?" Claims he wanted help, wanted to go home. #ICC
#Ongwen: "I thank God and I ask you to help me. In the future I could be a better human being. All these things exhausted me...life in the LRA is not good." "I sometimes wonder how many times I have been able to laugh in this world" and "people make assumptions [about me]" #ICC
#Ongwen "Kony has his own unique character...Kony has the spirits you have heard mentioned in this court...you might think he has had a much higher level of education...it is because of the spirits." "these were bad spirits because the spirits should not make people suffer." #ICC
#Ongwen "why can't I be helped, why can't I be taught, so that I can reclaim a normal life?" "I am a witness before God and before the world...to the things that happened in northern Uganda." #ICC
#Ongwen "I am remorseful...they [victims of war] really suffered." "there is nothing else we can do...the people who have been killed, can never come back, the things that have been destroyed, can never come back. Including my own family..." #ICC
#Ongwen "the way my parents were killed was brutal." "those people back home did not have the same treatment [as me]" "how can I be happy for all the things that happened in northern Uganda?" One of Ongwen's "brothers" recently committed suicide. #ICC
#Ongwen: "when I returned I apologized...for what had happened in northern Uganda...I asked for forgiveness for people I was ordered to kill, for people who were forced to be my wife...but I cannot ask for forgiveness for each of things brought against me..." #ICC
#Ongwen - not clear on what he is saying here - something about requesting a firing squad and that the bullets would not hit him because he is not responsible (as I understand it - have to check the transcript) #ICC
#Ongwen "I should not be held as a scapegoat..." Other commanders are not on trial. [this is true: there are many other senior commanders not on trial] "#ICC
#Ongwen is talking and talking. He seems to be significantly over an hour (though I haven't been keeping precise time). I'm wondering if his counsel will stop him - probably not. #ICC
#Ongwen: "I feel remorseful...I feel bad for the things that happened..." Both the victims and himself are "all human persons" [a phrase with particular significance in Acholi culture] #ICC
#Ongwen: "when I was in the LRA, that was the real prison. At least I am happy I'm here. 100 times more free, if I compare my life in the LRA. There is no jail in the world that is tougher than the LRA." #ICC
#Ongwen: "What about me, Dominic Ongwen, as a human being?" Says trial should have analyzed the causes of this situation in detail. "This case should have gone ten years..." (to analyze all aspects of the LRA phenomenon and how he fits into this. #ICC
#Ongwen now speaking on role of government in war. "I am the only one who was not given amnesty. Why?" Speculates that maybe they didn't want truth to come out. "I am like a messenger that has been sent to tell the real truth about Kony..." #ICC
#Ongwen speaking on wife P0226 (risky territory). Claims he rescued wife from another abusive commander. "She would also be telling, teacher [lapwony], from this point I am no longer a ting ting" Claims she spoke to #ICC because he "denied her" some privilege (not clear what)
#Ongwen going through each wife that testified in the trial. Claims they chose him, or he saved them from worse fate (my reading). P101 was chosen by Kony. "If I did not take care of them, why are they waiting for me now?" "I did not subject them to forced sex" #ICC
This is quite a remarkable statement - long and very wide ranging. I thought it started out effectively (with Ongwen's abduction). The portion of the forced marriages does not work at all in his favour. #Ongwen #ICC
#Ongwen claiming that one of the wives who testified claimed to him that she "was deceived to give testimony" and someone (who?) implied that she would get a house if she testified.[not sure if the court has looked into this allegation already] #ICC
#Ongwen #ICC Schmitt inquiring about a break "I do not want to interrupt you, you have the time to say what you want to say." Ongwen responds "thank you" in English.
#Ongwen "I feel as though God has forgotten me. I should have been born on a different planet. This planet is full of bad things...it's as though I was not created for this planet." #ICC
#Ongwen: "the proceeding on me is like a proceeding on a mad person, a proceeding on a baby...because I am like a dead person." #ICC
#Ongwen: "My suffering has made me drunk...most times I am unconscious, I have lost sleep...I cannot distinguish between day and night because I am awake throughout." Caused by "intense suffering that I have gone through." #ICC
#Ongwen "I get hallucinations, I hear gunshots, I see dead bodies, I see soldiers I killed, I see soldiers I slaughtered, I believe this image will not go anywhere until my death." #ICC
#Ongwen now objecting to something Manoba (external victims rep.) said about clans in n. Uganda yesterday. #ICC
#Ongwen says he was "chief operations commander in Congo" (I think) and says he questioned orders from Kony to kill group of government people. Buk [Abudema?] "became rude and started shouted at me." Ayena was among those supposed to be killed (!) #ICC
#Ongwen "I grew up...knowing there was no one more powerful in this world." (referring to Kony) Kony carried Ongwen across a river. #ICC
#Ongwen wants to be trained as "someone who advocates for human rights...you might see me on TV some day advocating for human rights..." "Help me, rehabilitate me, train me. I know how to fight, but that is the only thing I know." #ICC
#Ongwen statement ends. A very rich statement with much to analyze (I'll write a piece later today). Some of it was in his favour, some of it was not. #ICC
#Ongwen A shorter statement may have been more effective, but he clearly wanted to speak (for almost 2 hours). My overall impression is that he is tormented (don't think that is feigned) but that is also defiant and does not understand why he is before the court. #ICC
#Ongwen - this defiance stems from his very skewed life experience and the lack of accountability for others who had similar experiences. His perspective has not changed significantly from the beginning of the trial (it seems). #ICC
The aspects of his statement addressing forced marriage did him no favours in terms of valorizing the suffering of his "wives." Perhaps the judges will also see, however, that he has had a very abnormal life that has affected his perspective and choices. #ICC #Ongwen
* I did my best to be accurate in my recounting of Ongwen's speech, but I'm no court reporter so there may be errors and there are definitely many omissions.
Obhoff arguing that the mothers of #Ongwen's children want Ongwen to be in the children's lives (citing many supervised calls Ongwen made from the ICC-DC to the children). #ICC
Ayena: Prosecution "should be hoisted by its own petard" for arguing Ongwen would likely not have committed crimes had he not been abducted.
#Ongwen #ICC
#Ongwen #ICC
Ayena: victims' counsel submissions are "overzealous" and "lacking the least spark of human compassion." #ICC #Ongwen
Ayena: "indeed, they were not his wives. It would be insensitive for Mr. Ongwen to deny that sexual and gender-based crimes are not very grave crimes. He accepts that." Part of "institutional policy over which he had no control." #ICC #Ongwen
Ayena: "men were used as production machines, whereas women were the production lines" for the creation of Kony's future Acholi [Acholi B]. [I'm not sure I understand what he's getting at here] #ICC #Ongwen
Ayena: LRA "wives" were "institutional property of the LRA." Women are "for the movement" not individual commanders. Fact #Ongwen's "wives" did not run away (or be confiscated) indicates Ongwen treated his "wives" well.
#ICC
#ICC
Ayena arguing that there were indications of #Ongwen having mental illness in the Bush - that a couple of witnesses indicated that his behavior was not just "brave" but "irrational". #ICC
Ayena contends that #Ongwen has "come of age" during the trial, that he is "brand new" and the Defence judged him capable of speaking before the court [resulting from his medical treatment in prison] #ICC
#Ongwen is one of the "most loved" people in prison, except for a few occasions, triggered by his mental illness, such as his outburst in court [I believe they are referring to an incident during Mezy's expert testimony, which is largely outside the public record] #ICC
Ayena reaching a conclusion, arguing once again, that #Ongwen's time in the LRA should be considered part of his sentence. [don't see this one succeeding] #ICC
The hearing is over, and the sentence will be rendered on Thursday 6 May at 11:00.
6 May is very soon to render a sentence. Portions are likely already written and there is unanimity within the Chamber. I am guessing the court will largely adopt the prosecution approach and give #Ongwen 20 years. I don't think the unsworn statement will move the needle. #ICC
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