The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a new problem: three witnesses do not want to go back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The men are in The Hague to testify on behalf of Germain Katanga and Mattieu Ngudjolo Chui. But they are imprisoned at home, in Kinshasa.

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It is the first time at the world's permanent criminal court that foreign witnesses seek political asylum in the Netherlands. Pierre Mbodina was the first to send his request to the Dutch immigration services, already in March. He and the two others do not want to go back because they fear that their safety cannot be guaranteed.

The threesome testified on behalf of militiamen Katanga and Ngudjolo Chui who are on trial for a massacre in Bogoro, a small village in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The three witnesses are ‘on loan’ to the ICC. The court agreed to send them back after their testimonies.

Although the three witnesses are physically in the Netherlands, they fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC. According to a spokesperson from the Immigration- and Naturalization Service, the Netherlands assumes that the ICC itself will first do whatever is necessary.

The judges of the ICC from their side have indicated that, although they are responsible for the safety and security of the witnesses, they do not handle asylum requests. The judges are still deliberating the issue.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accuses Germain Katanga (33) and Mathieu Ngudjolo (40) of having played a key role in the murder of about 200 villagers in the East-Congolese village Bogoro in 2003. Their trial began on 24 November, 2009.

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Earlier IJT editions:

• International Justice Tribune, 128 (9 May 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 127 (27 April 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 126 (13 April 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 125 (30 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 124 (16 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 123 (2 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 122 (16 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 121 (2 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 120 (19 January 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 119 (14 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 118 (1 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 117 (17 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 116 (2 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 115 (20 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 114 (4 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 113 (21 September)
• International Justice Tribune, 112 (8 September 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 111 (25 August 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 110 (14 July 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 109 (30 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 108 (16 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 107 (2 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 106 (19 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 105 (5 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 104 (21 April 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 103 (7 April 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 102 (24 March 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 101 (10 March 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 100 (24 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 99 (10 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 98 (27 January 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 97 (13 January 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 96 (23 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 95 (9 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 94 (25 November 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 93 (11 November 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 92 (28 October 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 91 (14 October 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 90 (30 September 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 89 (16 September 2009)