A lawyer for a Ugandan rebel commander serving a 25-year sentence for dozens of war crimes and crimes against humanity told appeals judges Monday that his client was found guilty by an International Criminal Court trail panel that cherry-picked evidence to ensure he was convicted.

Prosecution lawyers responded that Dominic Ongwen was “properly and fairly convicted” after an exhaustive trial that heard evidence from 179 prosecution and defense witnesses and assessed more than 5,000 items of evidence.

Defense lawyer Krispus Ayena Odongo was speaking on the first day of an appeal hearing at the global court for Ongwen who was convicted last year on 61 charges for his role as a senior commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, the shadowy Ugandan rebel group led by fugitive warlord Joseph Kony.

Judges in May sentenced Ongwen to 25 years for a litany of crimes that include murder, rape, forced marriage, forced pregnancy and using child soldiers.