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

Trial Proceedings
Prosecution:
Q Thank you, Madam Witness. For how
long did the Banyamulengue rape you
A
Q
A
I don’t know.
Thank you. And did you consent to any
of them
I did not give my consent. I gave birth to
a child one week before then, one week
before they raped me.
The interpreter:
Correction: One -- it was one week after.
Prosecution:
Q Thank you, Madam Witness. And I
would like you to clarify. You’ve just said
you had given birth. Was it before they
had raped you or after they had raped
you
A
Q
I had already given birth. I had the baby
when they slept with me.
And did you tell them that you had
recently given birth
The witness stated that her husband tried to
intervene by speaking to the Banyamulengue in
French, but that he remained silent after they
threatened him. She said, ‘they told him that if
he tried anything they would kill him, and he
therefore had to remain outside and be present
during the event’. 1465 She also stated that her
children, her paralysed mother and her brother
were in the house while she was raped. She
told the Court that when her brother tried to
intervene, they threw him on the ground and
beat him. 1466 She stated that also her father,
mother and sisters had been raped. 1467 The
witness also recalled that her husband had
rounded up her children the day after she was
raped, left the house without giving a reason
and never returned. She stated: ‘He said that he
wanted to go away and not return.’ 1468 Although
her husband did not give a reason for his
departure, the witness stated that she thought
this was because she was raped. She stated: ‘He
thought that the Banyamulengue had sullied
me.’ 1469
A
Q
A
Q
Since I didn’t speak Lingala, but my
husband told them that I had a baby, he
was -- the child had just been born.
Thank you, Madam Witness. Did you
sustain any injury as a result of the
rape
Yes, of course. I had just given birth.
They slept with me and I bled.
Madam Witness, how did you feel while
these Banyamulengue were raping you
244
A
My pelvis hurt after the injuries of
giving birth because I just -- I was
powerless. I just had two hands on my
head and they did what they wanted to
do.
The interpreter:
Correction: The two hands underneath
the head. 1464
1464 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 10-12.
1465 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 13 lines 6-17.
1466 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 14 lines 22-25; p 15
lines 1, 8-9.
1467 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 14 line 3.
1468 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 16 lines 8-19.
1469 ICC-01/05-01/08-T-55-Red-ENG, p 16 line 19.