The International Criminal Court has ordered the resumption of the war crimes trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, which has been stalled since July. It has also reversed an order to free him.

The presiding judge of the court's appeals chamber said in The Hague that the decision to release Mr Lubanga had been based on an incorrect  decision. The ICC suspended the trial on 8 July after criticising chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for abusing court processes and ignoring judges' orders.

Mr Lubanga, 49, went on trial in January 2009 accused of using children under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the five-year civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo, which ended in 2003.

He surrendered to the ICC in March 2006, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His defence team accuses prosecutors of using false witnesses.

The trial, the ICC's first, was initially to have started in June 2008 but was stalled when the court ruled that prosecutors had wrongly withheld  evidence that was potentially favourable to his defence.

More on this story on our International Justice website

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