On March 14, the Court had found Lubanga guilty of war crimes for conscripting and using child soldiers to fight in Ituri (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) from September 1, 2002 to August 13, 2003. At the time he was president of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC).
Lubanga has been in jail in The Hague since March 2006, i.e. more than six years. The judges said this time spent in detention should be deducted from his sentence, meaning that he has just under eight years left to serve.
The judges have not yet handed down a decision on reparations which could be allocated to victims.
Lubanga is to serve his sentence in a third country. Six countries have so far signed agreements with the ICC to host its convicted prisoners in their jails : Mali, Serbia, Finland,Belgium, the UK and Austria.
Lubanga's trial started on January26, 2009. He is the first person to be judged by the ICC since it was created ten years ago.
SM/ER/JC