ICC starts ruling on appeal of Ugandan child soldier who became LRA commander

Dominic Ongwen, a former Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), appears before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands December 15, 2022. Sem van der Wal/Pool via REUTERS

The International Criminal Court on Thursday began reading out its verdict on the appeal of a former Ugandan child soldier who rose to be a commander in the notorious Lord's Resistance Army and was sentenced for 25 years for rape, murder and child abduction.

Judges have set aside more than four hours to deliver the verdict on Dominic Ongwen, who was taken into ICC custody in 2015. He was convicted and sentenced in 2021, but his lawyers have appealed against both the decisions on 90 grounds.