THE HAGUE, Netherlands, June 14 (UPI) -- The chief prosecutor at the ICC said he was requesting a severe prison sentence for Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga for conscripting child soldiers.
In March, the International Criminal Court, in its first verdict, found Lubanga guilty of conscripting child soldiers and using children as personal bodyguards during fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested a 30-year prison sentence for the former warlord as the key leader of Congolese rebel forces.
"No one in his militia can refuse his orders," the prosecutor said in a statement. "For that reason, Thomas Lubanga was involved in each child recruitment, in each use of children into hostilities."
Girls recruiting into service, the prosecutor added, were used as sex slaves, raped daily by commanders and soldiers in rebel training camps.
"Thomas Lubanga made a deliberate choice to use children in his militia," said Ocampo. "He knew he was breaking the basic rules that the world established to protect children."
Lubanga surrendered to the court and was transferred to The Hague in 2006. His trial started in 2009.
Ocampo said if Lubanga "seriously commits himself" to preventing future crimes, the prosecution would recommend a reduced sentence of 20 years.
