The Hague  - The Hague-based International Criminal Court halted Monday the war crimes trial process against a Congolese warlord, reprimanding prosecutors for withholding evidence from the defence.

Thomas Lubanga was arrested in March 2006 on charges of recruiting child soldiers and forcing them to fight in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2002 and 2003.

The court ruled Monday that he has been denied access to over 200 documents that could be used to prepare his defence, thereby damaging his right to a fair trial.

The court will decide on June 24 whether to set him free. His trial was to have begun on the 23rd. (dpa)