"If we are going to ask for one year per child, we would go far beyond the maximum of 30 years established by the statute", he added. ICC maximum penalty is life in prison but it should only be justified by the "extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person."
On Wednesday, Lubanga, 51, was found guilty of enlisting and conscripting children under 15 years old for his militia, the Union of Congolese Patriots. It was the first verdict handed down by the ICC since it was set up 10 years ago.
The Prosecution office also plan to demand that President Joseph Kabila hand over general Bosco Ntaganda, who was promoted in the Congolese army after being indicted with Lubanga by the ICC and who now faces new charges of mass rape and murders committed by his men.
"I request immediate arrest of Bosco Ntaganda. He cannot be a general in the DRC army. It's time to arrest him," Moreno-Ocampo said.
The length of Lubanga's sentence and cash reparations for victims will be discussed at a hearing on April 18.
SM/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency
