International Criminal Court prosecutors will present evidence on Tuesday to back up charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against notorious fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony at the global court’s first-ever in absentia hearing.
Kony faces dozens of counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, sexual enslavement and rape for allegedly leading the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army that terrorized northern Uganda.
Moving forward without Kony is seen as a test case for other proceedings where the suspect is not in custody, for example Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The hearing is not a trial, but allows prosecutors to outline their case in court. Kony will be represented in his absence by a defense lawyer. After weighing the evidence, judges can rule on whether or not to confirm the charges against Kony, but he cannot be tried in his absence.
By 2005, facing pressure from Uganda’s military, Kony’s
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