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Trial Proceedings
that the Chief Prosecutor appeared to be
attempting to instruct Samson on how to
answer, loudly saying ‘Samson, say yes’. Moreno-
Ocampo then attempted to intervene a second
time:
Moreno-Ocampo:
If I may, your –
Judge Fulford:
Mr Ocampo, really, can we please have
some order to how the submissions
are advanced. You have selected six
advocates to address the Court. Can
we remain with them. I’m sure that
messages can be passed forward if
there’s something else that needs to be
said at some stage.
Moreno-Ocampo:
I’m sorry, your Honour, if I may, the
Office of the Prosecutor is represented
by me here also and I’d like to answer
your question if I may.
Judge Fulford:
Mr Ocampo, no, not at the moment. In
due course, if there are supplementary
matters that need to be dealt with, we
will ask for your assistance, but I’m not
going to have different people jumping
up and intervening during what
needs to be a very tightly controlled
hearing, because at the moment both
Prosecution advocates have overrun
by ten minutes from the original time
estimates we were given.
Press coverage of the hearing noted the ‘friction’
and ‘simmering tensions between prosecutors
and judges’. 1134
Significantly, in its closing brief, consistent
with the document containing the charges,
the Prosecution did not explicitly raise any
arguments concerning gender-based crimes.
Witness summaries included in the Prosecution’s
closing brief, however, did indicate evidence
of such crimes. For example, it described the
testimony of Witness 10, who had stated that
she was 13 years old when she was forcibly
conscripted in late 2002, and that her life was
‘destroyed . . . completely destroyed’ following
‘tremendous difficulty and sexual abuse’ during
her time in UPC forces. 1135 The Prosecution’s
closing brief also mentioned that one witness
had admitted that he had raped a girl during a
battle, and that his commanders had ordered
him and other recruits to obtain girls for them
by force in order to rape them. 1136 A short section
of the brief entitled ‘Use of girl child soldiers in
the UPC/FPLC’ also summarised the evidence of
rape of girl recruits. 1137
After the closing statements of the Prosecution,
Judge Odio-Benito underscored that, despite
information on sexual violence being included
in the Prosecution final brief and closing
arguments, charges of sexual violence had not
been included in the document containing
the charges, nor included within the charges
Moreno-Ocampo:
Yeah, I –
Judge Fulford:
Thank you very much, Ms Samson. 1133
1133 ICC-01/04-01/06-T-356-ENG, p 23 lines 20-25; p 24 lines
1-12.
1134 ‘Lawyers wrap up International Court’s first trial’,
Associated Press, 25 August 2011, available at ,
last visited 31 October 2011.
1135 ICC-01/04-01/06-2748-Red, paras 398-405.
1136 ICC-01/04-01/06-2748-Red, para 427.
1137 ICC-01/04-01/06-2748-Red, paras 227-234.
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