ICC Judge Howard Morrison read the verdict at The Hague-based court, saying the appeals chamber confirmed the decision to convict and the judgement on sentencing.
Rwandan-born Ntaganda was found guilty of 18 charges of war crimes carried out in the early 2000s and was dubbed by some as “The Terminator”, in reference to his relentless killing.
His war crimes included murder, sexual slavery, rape and using child soldiers. The sentence was one of the longest in the world court’s history.
Earlier in March, the ICC set reparations to Ntaganda’s victims at US$30 million for some 100,000 victims.
The #ICC Appeals Chamber confirms, by majority, the decision of Trial Chamber VI of 8 July 2019 which found Bosco #Ntaganda guilty of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed in #Ituri, #DemocraticRepublicoftheCongo, in 2002-2003. pic.twitter.com/S057UrV0Rx
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 30, 2021
Ntaganda was judged by the ICC to have been one of the key leaders of the Union of Congolese Patriots rebel group and its military wing, Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo.
Hundreds of civilians were killed by Ntaganda’s rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between 2002 and 2003, as rival militias clashed over the region’s mineral wealth.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the area since 1999.
The former army general later founded the M23 rebel group that also operated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ntaganda insisted he was a soldier not a criminal during the trial and said the “The Terminator” nickname did not apply to him.
