Gender Report Card on the International Criminal ... - YWCA Canada

Trial Proceedings
a tendency to depression, and when I see a
soldier, or a man with a weapon, I’m afraid.
Even on public transit I am very, very afraid even
today. [...] At first I had nightmares. I would reexperience
the events and I slept poorly. After
that, things did get better.’ 1462
Witness 81 testified that she was gang-raped by
four MLC soldiers one week after giving birth.
She said the fifth soldier had to stop raping her
because she was bleeding. 1463 She stated that five
MLC soldiers, two of whom were commanders,
entered her house. She gave their names in
private session.
Q
A
Q
A
Can you explain to the Court what
they did to you when they entered your
house
When they arrived, I was getting ready
to prepare tea. When they arrived,
my husband took the baby. They said
that they wanted a woman, and my
husband said that I was his wife and I
had a baby, and they said that wasn’t a
problem. They said they just wanted a
woman, and I was a woman.
Continue, Madam Witness. Then what
happened next
They said to him that I was the mother
of children, and they said it wasn’t
their problem and they continued to
undress me. And then I was -- I was
trying to continue to prepare the tea.
The one, the tallest one, the most tall
and slender one, he -- he forced me to
take off my clothes. He was the first
one to sleep with me.
The interpreter:
Correction from the interpreter: The
witness also said that the person
threatened her with his weapon.
1462 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-48-Red-ENG, p 40 lines 16-23.
1463 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 6 lines 7-10.
Prosecution:
Q Thank you, Madam Witness. You have just
mentioned that he slept with you. Which
part of your body did he sleep with
A
Q
A
He put his penis into my body, into the
female part of my body.
Thank you, Madam Witness. Does the
female part of your body have a name
In Sango, we say dondö.
The interpreter:
And the Sango interpreter points out that
this word means ‘vagina’.
Prosecution:
Q Thank you. And that was the first one.
What about -- sorry. My question is: How
many of them slept with you
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
There were four of them, but -- there were
five of them, but only four of them slept
with me. The fifth one also wanted to, but
since I was bleeding he didn’t continue.
Thank you, Madam Witness. Now, you’ve
told the Court that the first one who slept
with you put his penis into your vagina. Is
that what the other four did, as well
Yes, they did the same thing.
Thank you, Madam Witness. While one
was raping you, where was the weapon of
that particular Banyamulengue who was
raping you
He gave his weapon to one of the
members of the group.
Thank you, Madam Witness. And while
one was raping you, where were the other
members of the group
The others were there; they were helping
with the rape.
The interpreter:
Correction: They were present during the
rape.
243