The trial of Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala began on Wednesday in Paris over atrocities committed two decades ago during the Second Congo War.

Lumbala has been charged with “criminal conspiracy to prepare crimes against humanity” and “complicity of crimes against humanity” during the conflict from 1998 to 2003.

Lumbala faces a possible sentence of life in prison. A verdict is expected on December 19 following the trial at the Paris criminal court.

The 67-year-old led the Congolese Rally for National Democracy, a rebel group backed by neighbouring Uganda and accused of atrocities against civilians, particularly targeting the Nande and Bambuti ethnic minorities in eastern Congo in 2002 and 2003.

The group committed widespread torture, executions, rape, forced labour and sexual slavery, according to UN reports.

After the war, Lumbala served as minister of foreign trade in Congo’s transitional government from 2003 to 2005 and later as a member of parliament. The Congolese government issued an arrest warrant in 2011 over his alleged support of the M23 rebel group, prompting him to flee to France, where he had previously lived before the war.

Lumbala was arrested in Paris in 2020 and indicted by a French court in 2023.

The trial is possible under a French law that recognizes universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity. His case marks the first time a Congolese political or military leader has been tried for mass atrocities before a national court under the universal jurisdiction principle.

Daniele Perissi, head of the Democratic Republic of Congo programme at Trial International, one of the groups representing civil parties, called it a “historic trial.”

“It is an important step in the broader fight against impunity but above all, this trial is about recognition and justice for the survivors,” Perissi said. “After more than 20 years of silence and fear, they will finally be heard.”

Congo has been wracked by deadly conflict in its mineral-rich east since the 1990s with more than 100 active armed groups. The conflict escalated earlier this year when the M23 rebel group seized two key cities with the help of neighbouring Rwandan forces.

• An AP report