International Criminal Court sentences Congo warlord to 30 years

View of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, where Congolese militia commander Bosco Ntaganda is scheduled to hear the sentence in his trial in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. The ICC is delivering the sentence on Ntaganda, accused of overseeing the slaughter of civilians by his soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced a Congolese warlord known as “The Terminator” to 30 years imprisonment on Thursday after he was convicted of crimes including murder, rape, and sexual slavery.

The sentence was the highest ever passed by the global court.

Bosco Ntaganda was found guilty in July of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in atrocities in a bloody ethnic conflict in a mineral-rich region of Congo in 2002-2003.

Congolese militia commander Bosco Ntaganda enters the courtroom of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, to hear the sentence in his trial in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. The ICC delivered the sentence on Ntaganda, accused of overseeing the slaughter of civilians by his soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

Ntaganda showed no emotion as Presiding Judge Robert Fremr passed sentences ranging from eight years to 30 years for individual crimes and an overarching sentence of 30 years.

The court’s maximum sentence is 30 years, although judges also have the discretion to impose a life sentence. /kga