Michael P. Scharf and |
War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 6 - Issue 4 |
Editor in Chief Managing Editors Senior Technical Editors |
War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type "subscribe" in the subject line.
Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
European Court of Human Rights
Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Central African Republic & Uganda
Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Cases: Central African Republic
ICC Public Documents - Situation in Uganda
Central African Judge Says Local Soldiers Brutalized Civilians
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 10, 2011
A Central African judge testifying in Jean Pierre-Bemba's trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has explained that his investigation found that local armed groups had committed crimes in his country before the arrival of Congolese troops led by the accused.
Mr. Bemba, 48, sent his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) rebels into areas around Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), to help then president Ange-Félix Patassé beat off a coup attempt. He is on trial because prosecutors at the ICC charge that he failed to control his troops as they allegedly raped, killed, and looted during their presence in that country between October 25, 2002 and March 15, 2003.
Under the Rome Statute that formed the ICC, commanders can be charged for failing to punish or to stop their troops who commit crimes. Mr. Bemba has pleaded not guilty, primarily on the grounds that he did not have command over his troops whom prosecutors allege committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in and around Bangui.
Bangui's senior judge Pamphile Oradimo, the 19th witness called by ICC prosecutors, stated at the trial today that his investigation found that crimes committed in the country as a result of a coup attempt against Mr. Patassé dated back to November 2001. This was one year before the crimes over which Mr. Bemba is being tried were committed. "During the investigation, we did not distinguish between the victims [of crimes], whether they were before or after the 25th [October 2002]. We heard all of them," he said.
Mr. Oradimo told the trial, presided over by Judge Sylvia Steiner at The Hague-based court, that when the country's current president François Bozizé started a rebellion against Mr. Patassé, battles between rebels and loyalist forces started well ahead of the arrival of MLC troops.
He said the Bozizé rebels started their campaign from Chad, then went through numerous towns in and around Bangui, including Bossongoa, Mongoumba, and Damara.
Mr. Oradimo's investigation found that the various armed groups loyal to Mr. Patassé, such as the United Presidential Security (USP) led by Colonel Abdoulaye Miskine and the Société centrafricaine de protection et desurveillance (SCPS) - a private security group led by Mr. Patassé's chauffeur - both of whose men were better equipped than the country's regular army (Forces Armées Centrafricain or FACA), were at the time spread over three quarters of the CAR territory.
"They [loyalist forces] had perpetrated the most abominable abuses against the civilian population and its property," said the Bangui judge, who started testifying in Mr. Bemba's ICC trial last week.
"At no point regarding the committing of these acts of violence do you mention the MLC. Are we to understand that the most horrific acts of violence and abuse committed against the civilian population and their belongings starting on the 2nd of November 2001 were committed by the men of Miskine, Paul Barrel [head of the SPCS]...excluding the MLC men?" asked defense lawyer Aime Kilolo-Musamba.
"Yes, that was well before," replied Mr. Oradimo.
The witness was then asked how long for Mr. Patassé loyalist groups, in addition to the FACA, operated.
He replied, "They operated until the fall [of Mr. Patassé] on the 15th of March 2003."
The Central African towns where the ICC prosecutor claims some of Mr. Bemba's alleged crimes were committed include Bangui, Boy-Rabé, Bossongoa, and Mongumba.
The defense has argued that no MLC troops arrived in many of these towns at the dates many witnesses have said they were brutalized by alleged MLC fighters. Accordingly, the defense has claimed that any of the numerous armed groups active at the time in those areas could have been the perpetrators of crimes which prosecutors claim were committed by Mr. Bemba's soldiers.
New Witness Testifies in Closed Session
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 11, 2011
A new prosecution witness in the trial of war crimes accused Jean-Pierre Bemba took the stand this afternoon. However, nearly all his evidence was heard in closed session.
In an oral decision yesterday, Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner granted 'Witness 63' protective measures, including the use of a pseudonym, image and voice distortion, as well as "limited private session where the witness gives information that tends to disclose his identification." Judges deemed these measures necessary in order to enable the witness to continue living in his community without being harassed.
Additionally, following a recommendation by the court's Victims and Witnesses Unit (VWU) regarding the witness's level of literacy, the witness was granted in-court assistance from a VWU official.
In the very brief testimony he gave in open court, the witness said he saw Congolese soldiers in his neighborhood but could not recall the date when he saw them for the first time. He also said in response to questioning by prosecution lawyer Eric Iverson that he could not distinguish between the weapons that Mr. Bemba's soldiers were firing.
The appearance of 'Witness 63,' the 20th witness to be heard since the beginning of the trial last November, marks a halfway point in the number of witnesses the prosecution said it planned to call.
Mr. Bemba, the fourth Congolese national to be tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC), stands accused of failing to stop or to punish his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers who allegedly carried out mass rapes, killings, and looting in the Central African Republic during 2002 and 2003 conflict. He sent his Congolese troops to the neighboring country to help its then president Ange-Félix Patassé stave to off a coup attempt. Mr. Bemba has denied all charges against him.
Meanwhile, earlier today, Pamphile Oradimo, the Senior Investigating Judge in the Central African capital Bangui, completed giving his evidence. Mr. Oradimo led the Central African Republic's judicial investigations into the culpability of individuals for the different crimes committed during the conflict. In his testimony, he stated that he ordered the dismissal of charges his country's prosecutor sought to bring against Mr. Bemba. This was because Mr. Bemba had become the vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the investigation by the judge had not found sufficient evidence implicating him.
Witness Says Bemba's Group Used Child Soldiers
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 12, 2011
A witness today stated that there were child soldiers among the ranks of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), the group led by Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose alleged brutalization of Central African civilians landed him in the dock at the International Criminal Court.
According to the witness, the minors mainly carried out reconnaissance missions in towns the MLC planned to attack. "Apparently they were used as scouts. So they would go to the locality and pass themselves off as children in trouble because of the war...they would walk and come back about five in the afternoon," he narrated. The MLC would then advance on an area if the intelligence gathered by the boys indicated that it was safe to do so.
'Witness 63,' who started giving evidence yesterday, testified about the movement of Mr. Bemba's troops in the PK12 and PK24 suburbs of the Central African Republic (CAR) capital Bangui. He described how the Congolese fighters robbed cell phones from civilians and then exchanged them for alcohol, and how they forcefully occupied civilians' houses.
Prosecution lawyer Eric Iverson asked 'Witness 63' whether he accompanied the MLC as they moved from one suburb to another.
"Yes, I accompanied them. When they left, two days later, I followed them," answered the witness. However, he did not state in open court why he followed the soldiers. The witness gave most of his evidence in closed session.
Mr. Bemba, a Congolese national, has acknowledged that his troops went to neighboring CAR to help the country's then president, Ange-Félix Patassé, stave off a coup attempt. However, he has pleaded not guilty to the crimes he is accused of. Prosecutors at the ICC charge that Mr. Bemba is criminally responsible for two crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging).
The trial resumes on Tuesday to hear more evidence from 'Witness 63.'
Central African Generals Said Patassé Commands Bemba's Troops
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 13, 2011
A witness this week stated that Central African Republic (CAR) generals told him that when war crimes accused Jean-Pierre Bemba's troops were in the country, they were commanded by former president Ange-Félix Patassé.
Pamphile Oradimo, the Senior Investigating Judge of the CAR, interviewed several senior military officers as part of his investigations into the individuals responsible for crimes committed in the country during the 2002-2003 conflict. Among others, he sought to establish who commanded the country's troops and their Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) allies at the time Mr. Patassé was battling an armed rebellion.
Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Aime Kilolo-Musamba, Mr. Oradimo, who was testifying for the second week, confirmed the statements made to him by senior military officials. In the statements, sections of which Mr. Kilolo-Musamba read out, Mr. Oradimo asked General Ferdinand Bombayake, who headed the Patassé presidential guard, under which military authorities different armed forces involved in the conflict operated.
"The Banyamulenge [Congolese soldiers] were operating under the command of the Assistant Chief of Staff, General [Andre] Mazi, and Lt. Col. Lengbe. Only these two gentlemen could provide you with details of the practical measures that had been implemented," read General Bombayake's statement.
General Bombayake also stated that forces led by Koumatamadji Martin, alias Abdoulaye Miskine, a Chadian national, "reported directly to the head of state." These trooped numbered around 700. Libyan troops fighting along the side of Mr. Patassé's loyalist forces also reported to the head of state, he said. A number of prosecution witnesses have said that Mr. Miskine's troops committed crimes, including murders, in Bangui, although they have said most of the crimes were committed by Mr. Bemba's forces.
According to the statement of another military official, the Banyamulenge later came under the direct command of Mr. Bombayake. For his part, General Mazi stated that Lt. Col. Lengbe defected to the rebel forces of François Bozizé, and "from that moment onwards, all the [Banyamulenge] operations in Bangui and provinces were organized and led by General Bombayake."
The statement by Mr. Bombayake's assistant was also read aloud in court. The assistant stated that the coordination of operations between the Banyamulenge and members of Mr. Patassé's presidential guard was the responsibility of Mr. Bombayake and a "representative of Mr. Bemba." Mr. Bombayake's assistant added that this was under the supervision of the Minister of Defense.
Mr. Bemba, as commander in chief of the MLC, is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for failing to stop or punish his soldiers as they allegedly went on rampage in the CAR, raping, looting, and murdering civilians. The MLC were in the country to help Mr. Patassé fight off a coup attempt.
Under the Rome Statute that formed the ICC, commanders can be charged for failing to punish or to stop their troops who commit crimes. Mr. Bemba has pleaded not guilty, primarily on the grounds that he did not have command over his troops whom prosecutors allege committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in and around Bangui.
Meanwhile, Mr. Oradimo also testified that his investigation found that local armed groups had committed crimes in his country before the arrival of the MLC. His investigation found that crimes committed in the country as a result of a coup attempt against Mr. Patassé dated back to November 2001. This was one year before the crimes over which Mr. Bemba is being tried were committed. "During the investigation, we did not distinguish between the victims [of crimes], whether they were before or after the 25th [October 2002]. We heard all of them," he said.
Mr. Oradimo told the trial, presided over by Judge Sylvia Steiner at The Hague-based court, that when the country's current president François Bozizé started a rebellion against Mr. Patassé, battles between rebels and loyalist forces started well ahead of the arrival of MLC troops.
He said the Bozizé rebels started their campaign from Chad, then went through numerous towns in and around Bangui, including Bossongoa, Mongoumba, and Damara.
Mr. Oradimo's investigation found that the various armed groups loyal to Mr. Patassé, such as the United Presidential Security (USP) led by Colonel Miskine and the Société centrafricainede protection et desurveillance (SCPS) - a private security group led by a Patassé associate - both of whose men were better equipped than the country's regular army (Forces Armées Centrafricain or FACA), were at the time spread over three quarters of the CAR territory.
"They [loyalist forces] had perpetrated the most abominable abuses against the civilian population and its property," said the Bangui judge.
"At no point regarding the committing of these acts of violence do you mention the MLC. Are we to understand that the most horrific acts of violence and abuse committed against the civilian population and their belongings starting on the 2nd of November 2001 were committed by the men of Miskine, Paul Barrel [head of the SPCS]...excluding the MLC men?" asked Mr.Kilolo-Musamba.
"Yes, that was well before," replied Mr. Oradimo.
The witness was then asked how long for Mr. Patassé loyalist groups, in addition to the FACA, operated.
He replied, "They operated until the fall [of Mr. Patassé] on the 15th of March 2003."
The Central African towns where the ICC prosecutor claims some of Mr. Bemba's alleged crimes were committed include Bangui, Boy-Rabé, Bossongoa, and Mongumba.
The defense has argued that no MLC troops arrived in many of these towns at the dates many witnesses have said they were brutalized by alleged MLC fighters. Accordingly, the defense has claimed that any of the numerous armed groups active at the time in those areas could have been the perpetrators of crimes which prosecutors claim were committed by Mr. Bemba's soldiers.
On Thursday, a witness who had first appeared the previous day stated that there were child soldiers among the ranks of the MLC. According to him, the minors mainly carried out reconnaissance missions in towns the MLC planned to attack.
"Apparently they were used as scouts. So they would go to the locality and pass themselves off as children in trouble because of the war...they would walk and come back about five in the afternoon," he narrated. The MLC would then advance on an area if the intelligence gathered by the boys indicated that it was safe to do so.
'Witness 63,' who started giving evidence yesterday, testified about the movement of Mr. Bemba's troops in the PK 12 and PK 24 suburbs of Bangui. He described how the Congolese fighters robbed cell phones from civilians and then exchanged them for alcohol, and how they forcefully occupied civilians' houses.
'Witness 63' continues his testimony Tuesday, May 17.
LRA Rebels Kill One and Abduct Five in W. Equatoria
Sudan Tribune
By Richard Ruati
May 13, 2011
Five people, including an eleven-year old girl were abducted and one killed when the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) raided a funeral procession in Bangu between Nagero and Tambura counties of Western Equatoria state on Tuesday.
The commissioner of Tambura county Babiro Charles Ngbamisi said the attacks began at 6.00pm.
"LRA rebels brutal attack happened when people were at a funeral service. A group of about ten too fifteen LRA soldiers came in the evening rounded them up and at 7.00pm some villagers managed to escape and reported the LRA to the police," said the commissioner.
He stated that after he received the report he ordered the police and the community guards to intervene, with him leading the team. They followed the fleeing LRA troops and were ambushed, resulting in one of the commissioner's team being shot.
The LRA is a militia which has terrorised the region since the late eighties. They were formed in Uganda and are led by the International Criminal Court indited Joseph Kony, who describes himself as a 'spokesperson' for God. They commit atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan. There have been allegations that they LRA are operating a mercenaries for the northern Sudanese government, Khartoum vehemently denies this.
He stressed that the county is working hard to straighten capacity of the home guards so that when such attacks happen they can respond directly.
The home guards are local vigilantes who use firearms to provide protections to the local communities from the atrocities of the LRA.
The civil vigilante's often use traditional weapons such as bow and arrows. Babiro said the local authorities and the council of traditional leaders under the chairmanship of the new paramount chief, Tambura Mboribamu Baabe Reinzi, has pledged contributions to the home guards to help boost their operations.
Earlier this year the chiefs of Yambio county contributed funds to the home guards to help them protest the local communities as they cultivate their land.
The state government says the presence of vigilante groups is "welcome". Though elements from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) have been cautious of the Arrow boys, as they are otherwise known fearing that the guns or arrows might be turned against them one day.
In many LRA attacks the army tries to send soldiers out on patrol with as many vigilante groups as possible, but with few SPLA soldiers deployed in the region, lack of logistical support and welfare to an army which is emerging a long civil war this is difficult.
Until five years ago, the infamous LRA rebels enjoyed safe passage after looting, abducting and burning the streets of the villages. However, with the presence of Arrow boys, the LRA had had difficulty making their way with villages at a large scale.
In Uganda LRA rebels are no longer a threat, most rural villages are peaceful and there is sense of peace in northern Uganda, a region which bore the brunt of LRA brutal campaign to topple the regime of Uganda's Museveni.
Bemba's Men Plundered Shops, Homes, Churches
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 17, 2011
A prosecution witness today described how Congolese soldiers from the group led by war crimes accused Jean-Pierre Bemba plundered homes, churches, and shops in the Central African Republic (CAR) town of Damara near the capital Bangui. The witness also stated that these soldiers killed some civilians they accused of supporting rebels who were attempting to topple then president Ange-Félix Patassé.
"In Damara, there wasn't a single shop that went unlooted," stated 'Witness 63.' He added, "And all churches, practically all of them, whether Catholic or Protestant, they had been plundered. All houses in Damara were looted."
The witness, who testified with face and voice distortion in order to keep his identity unknown to the public, stated that at one time he came across a bush clearing where the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers had piled their loot. Subsequently, the foreign troops asked local women to carry some of the loot to the port of Bangui, from where it shipped across the River Oubangui to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the witness said. "But the loot that belonged to the leader [of the MLC soldiers in the area] was transported on trucks," he added.
According to the witness, the MLC entered Damara in pursuit of rebels who were attempting to overthrow Mr. Patassé. The witness stated that the MLC were in the country to help Mr. Patassé to defeat the rebels, who were led by Francois Bozizé.
He added that MLC soldiers often stopped civilians they met as they pursued the insurgents and asked them if they were rebels or wives of rebels. "After stopping someone, they were in the habit of killing the victims in the night," said the witness.
'Witness 63' also talked about a girl who told him that she had been gang-raped by MLC fighters. However, he gave details about the attack on the girl in closed session. In fact, during the morning, the witness gave nearly all his evidence in closed session. At the start of the afternoon hearing, presiding judge Sylvia Steiner announced that the rest of the day's session would be held in private session in order for the witness to "feel free to speak."
'Witness 63' commenced his testimony last Wednesday, and on Thursday, he explained that because of the nature of his work, he stealthily followed the MLC as they went about their campaign to rout Mr. Bozizé's rebels. Today, he stated, "When I was doing this kind of work I was doing it for posterity, for the history of Central Africa." He did not elaborate in open court.
Witness Continues Testifying in Closed Session
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 18, 2011
The current witness in Jean-Pierre Bemba's war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today continued to testify in private session. On Tuesday, 'Witness 63,' who first appeared last week, was allowed by judges to give nearly all his testimony behind closed doors. According to Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner, this was to enable the witness to "feel free to speak." She also reassured the witness that while testifying in closed session, there would be no possibility for people outside the courtroom to hear what he was saying.
The witness had earlier been granted several protective measures, such as the use of a pseudonym, image and voice distortion, and "limited private session where the witness gives information that tends to disclose his identification." Judges deemed these measures necessary in order to enable the witness to continue living in his community without being harassed. Additionally, following a recommendation by the court's Victims and Witnesses Unit (VWU) regarding his level of literacy, 'Witness 63' was granted in-court assistance from a VWU official.
Yesterday, 'Witness 63' told the trial that Mr. Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) soldiers plundered homes, churches, and shops in the Central African Republic (CAR) town of Damara near the capital Bangui. He also stated that these soldiers killed some civilians they accused of supporting rebels who were attempting to topple then president Ange-Félix Patassé. Last Thursday, he said the MLC used child soldiers, as well as described how the Congolese fighters robbed cell phones from civilians and then exchanged them for alcohol.
Mr. Bemba, a former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has denied charges that he failed to control his soldiers who carried out mass rapes, killings, and plunder during their expedition in the CAR during 2002 and 2003.
Bemba Trial Continues in Private Session
Open Society Justice Initiative
By Wakabi Wairagala
May 19, 2011
Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba's trial today continued to be held in closed session, as the 20th witness called by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors testified for the fifth day.
The only moment 'Witness 63' appeared in open session was at the very start of the day's proceedings when he confirmed that he was ready to continue giving evidence. Even then, he had his face and voice distorted to keep his identity secret.
Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner reminded the witness that if he were to testify in open session, he should avoid mentioning information that could lead to his identity becoming known by the public. The judge said the witness was to avoid mention of his name and any identifying information for his family members and friends.
Mr. Bemba is on trial for allegedly failing to stop or to punish his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) troops who brutalized Central African citizens during 2002 and 2003. He has denied the charges.
Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in Darfur, Sudan
ICC Urges U.N. Action on Bashir Visit to Djibouti
Reuters
By Aaron Gray-Block
May 12, 2011
The International Criminal Court called on the U.N. Security Council to take action over Djibouti's failure to arrest indicted war crimes suspect Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during a recent visit.
Bashir has been indicted by the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes court, for genocide in Sudan's Darfur region and this is the third time that an ICC member state has failed to arrest him despite being obliged to do so.
The ICC said Thursday it had informed the Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), which oversees the work of the court, of Bashir's visit to Djibouti to attend the inauguration ceremony of Djibouti's president on May 8.
It urged the Security Council and the ASP "to take any measure they may deem appropriate." Djibouti is one of two Arab League states that have signed up to the ICC, which said the African country "has an obligation" to enforce arrest warrants.
The ICC has struggled to have its suspects arrested because it has no police force of its own and relies on state co-operation for arrests to be carried out.
"Countries that are welcoming Bashir are sending a terrible message to victims on their commitment to accountability and the arrest of the perpetrators of these crimes," said Elise Keppler at New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Although the Security Council has the power to refer situations to the ICC, as it did with Sudan's Darfur crisis and Libya's violent crackdown on protesters, alongside authority to temporarily halt investigations, it has no clear power to take action against states that fail to arrest ICC suspects.
"I don't see how the council can react on this," said a Security Council diplomat in New York. "It isn't going to happen."
The ICC previously informed the Security Council in August 2010 of a failure by an ICC state party to arrest Bashir, following visits by the Sudanese leader to Kenya and Chad.
Darfur Rebels at ICC to Assert That AU Troops Were Legitimate Targets
Sudan Tribune
May 18, 2011
The two rebel figures accused of leading a deadly attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur more than three years ago plan to tell judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that what they did was not unlawful, according to court documents.
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus each face three counts of violence to life in the form of murder, war crime of attacking a peacekeeping mission and pillaging.
Last March, the ICC judges ruled that there were "substantial grounds" to believe that the two men were responsible for the attack and ordered them to stand trial for war crimes following a quick confirmation of charges hearing in December.
The defense lawyers of Banda and Jerbo have made a joint filing with the prosecutors prior to the confirmation hearing stating that his clients will not contest the charges at this stage. The motion have helped reduce the time dedicated to the confirmation of charges hearing.
On Monday a similar filing was made in preparation for the trial that is scheduled to take place sometime this year.
"The Parties inform the Chamber that they have reached an agreement that the accused persons will contest only the specific issues listed below at their trial......whether the attack on the MGS Haskanita on 29 September 2007 was unlawful; If the attack is deemed unlawful, whether the Accused persons were aware of the factual circumstances that established the unlawful nature of the attack; Whether AMIS was a peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,".
Both sides agreed that should the prosecution convince the chamber at the trial of its position on these issues then Banda and Jerbo "will plead guilty to the charges preferred against them without prejudice to their right to appeal."
"The agreement reached by the Parties will significantly shorten the trial proceedings by focusing the trial only on those issues that are contested between the Parties. This will promote an efficient and cost effective trial whilst preserving the rights of victims to participate in the proceedings and protecting the rights of the Accused persons to a fair and expeditious trial."
If the judges approve the stipulation it will mark the first time since the establishment of the ICC that suspects admit involvement in a crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the court.
It will also have the potential of being the fastest case in the history of the ICC to date. The Hague tribunal has been criticized for not being unable hand a single conviction to date since it was founded.
The two men allegedly commanded a 1,000-strong rebel force in the Sept. 29, 2007 attack, on the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) base in Haskanita in North Darfur. They looted the camp of 17 vehicles, refrigerators, computers, mobile phones, ammunition and money.
The attack killed twelve soldiers and severely injured eight others who were mainly from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Botswana. It was the deadliest single attack on the peacekeepers since they began their mission in late 2004.
Banda was a senior military commander in Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) before he was dismissed during a bitter split among the movement's governing elite in mid-2007. He went on to form a rival faction, the JEM Collective Leadership, with former JEM vice president Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. The latter appeared voluntarily before the ICC to answer charges relating to the same attack but the court declined to pursue those charges in February citing insufficient evidence to prove his criminal responsibility.
Jerbo on the other hand was a leading figure in the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)-Unity faction before being removed later for unknown reasons.
The Hague-based court, established in 2002 to try those responsible for war crimes and genocide, has also issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir, who has snubbed the court and denied the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy against his government.
The ICC is investigating both sides of the Darfur conflict. In addition to the three cases involving Banda and Jerbo, Garda and Bashir, it is also seeking the arrest of two government figures namely South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali Kushayb for 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Sudan Denies Pulling ICC Suspect From Meetings with UNSC
Sudan Tribune
May 18, 2011
The Sudanese government on Wednesday refuted remarks by a one of its officials in which he claimed that the governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun will be pulled from the meetings with the visiting delegation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with alleged war crimes he committed in Sudan's western region of Darfur while he was the state minister for interior. He was recently declared the winner in South Kordofan's gubernatorial elections amid allegations of fraud by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) which fielded a candidate against Haroun.
The cabinet affairs minister Luka Byong, who is an SPLM figure, told the Al-Sahafa daily in an interview published today that the Sudanese foreign ministry agreed to exclude Haroun from meetings with the UNSC delegation during its visit to the disputed region of Abyei which borders South Kordofan.
But the spokesperson for foreign ministry Khalid Moussa denied Byong's assertions and emphasized that they have not received any request in this regard.
"In addition to the false claims attributed to Luka Byong such an accusation [on excluding Haroun] violates the principles of national sovereignty and the provisions of the constitution prevailing in Sudan," Moussa said.
He stressed that Haroun is the legitimate elected governor and he must be treated as such as a respect to Sudan's sovereignty.
Innercitypress website quoted the French ambassador Gerard Araud who is also UNSC president for the month of May as saying that "we are not going to meet him."
The Sudanese diplomat described UNSC's visit as a "routine" one and an opportunity for the council to see things on the ground first hand.
However, he declined to confirm the delegation's planned visit to South Kordofan and Abyei.
"Consultations on the visit to these two areas has not been resolved" Moussa said.
Abyei's future status is the most sensitive of a raft of issues that north and south Sudan are struggling to reach agreement on ahead of the South's full independence, due to take place in two months time.
Deadly fighting and recriminations have flared since January, when the region had been due to vote on whether to join the north or the south, alongside a referendum in the south that delivered a landslide for secession.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) flew Haroun to Abyei a meeting to try to reconcile feuding tribes following deadly clashes. This was done despite a legal opinion by the UN that contacts between officials of the world body and people indicted by international courts "should be limited to what is strictly required for carrying out U.N. mandated activities".
But the UN underscored that flying Haroun was in line with that policy.
The North and South signed a security accord in South Kordofan capital city of Kadugli last January to withdraw from Abyei except the special Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) of northern and southern personnel, both army and police, alongside UN peacekeepers.
Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in the Republic of Kenya
ICC Throws Out Ocampo's Request
AllAfrica.com
By Nzau Musau
May 11, 2011
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has lost his latest application to review the deadlines ordered by the court on disclosure of evidence. Pre-trial judge Ekaterina Trendafilova rejected all grounds advanced by Ocampo to release witness statements that require redactions only after a proper re-evaluation of the security situation in Kenya.
Ocampo had also wanted to submit his redaction proposals in two stages of June 24 and July 29 contrary to the ordered three stages of June 3, 24 and July 29. "The single Judge is of the view that, by his request, the prosecutor is essentially seeking a reconsideration of the Calendar for Disclosure," the judge ruled. "The Prosecutor's request cannot therefore be granted to the extent that it advocates the non-binding nature of the dates indicated by the prosecutor for his submission of proposals for redactions."
At the same time, the deadline for Ocampo to make observations in an application filed by the government to have the all investigation files handed to it expired yesterday.
In its application early last month, the government had wanted all statements, documents and other types of evidence obtained by the court and the prosecutor in the course of ICC investigations handed over for use in domestic investigations.
Article 93 (10) of the Rome Statute provides for this when it states: "The court may, upon request, cooperate with and provide assistance to a State Party conducting an investigation into or trial in respect of conduct which constitutes a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court or which constitutes a serious crime under the national law of the requesting State."
Kenyan Trial Asks, Can Journalism be a War Crime?
The Atlantic
By Robbie Corey- Boulet
May 16, 2011
To Elizabeth Cherotich Karanja, the voice of Kenyan radio journalist Joshua arap Sang is a menacing thing, the background narrative for violence in late 2007 that claimed her livestock, her home, and her sense of security.
In December 2007, her village, a pocket of ethnic Kikuyu families in the western part of Kenya's Rift Valley, was set upon by Kalenjin rioters angry that their chosen presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, had lost that month's election to the Kikuyu incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Though Karanja, 42, is herself a Kalenjin, she discovered, hiding from the mobs as she watched homes burn, that in marrying a Kikuyu man twenty years prior she had surrendered the benefits of belonging to the area's majority tribe.
Perhaps Karanja's most vivid memory of the violence is of listening to Sang's show -- titled "Lene Emet," or "What the Nation is Saying" -- on the Kalenjin-language KASS FM station and hearing a message, delivered in code but clear to anyone paying attention, that seemed intended specifically for her. She recalled recently, "He said, 'Kalenjin girls who played football the wrong way will regret it, because they will have scored an own goal.'"
This is not the type of anecdote by which Sang, 36, currently wants to be defined, and for good reason. In December, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo listed him as one of six suspects implicated in a probe of the post-election violence, which killed more than 1,200 Kenyans and displaced hundreds of thousands. In particular, Sang stands accused of contributing to the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and forcible transfer of population. He accomplished this, Ocampo says, not with subtle soccer metaphors but rather with overt calls to arms -- "What are you waiting for?" "What are you doing at home?" "The war has begun" -- paired with specific instructions.
Guilty or not, Ocampo's filings make Sang one of the few journalists ever to be accused of atrocity crimes, and the respective fates of his predecessors do not bode well for his prospects should the case against him go to trial.
In 1946, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg found Julius Streicher, publisher of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer as well as anti-Semitic children's books, guilty of incitement to murder and extermination, sentencing him to hang. The next such verdict came more than fifty years later at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which ultimately tried and convicted four journalists affiliated with the notorious Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, or RTLM.
The Rwanda cases popularized the idea that journalists could play a central role in mass slaughter. From mainstream films to peer-reviewed papers, the contributions of RTLM to the campaign against ethnic Tutsis, hundreds of thousands of whom were killed by ethnic Hutus, feature in most accounts of the genocide. Roméo Dallaire, who commanded UN forces in Rwanda, has written that during the genocide radio "was akin to the voice of God," and that "if the radio called for violence, many Rwandans would respond."
At an event in April marking the anniversary of the genocide, a senior legal adviser at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) told reporters gathered at the Rwandan High Commission in Nairobi that the case against Sang was made possible in part by the Rwandan tribunal's prosecutions of journalists. "We are happy that today journalists cannot use the mic and the newspaper to propagate incitement, and to incite the population to commit crimes against humanity," said Roland Kouassi Amoussouga, who is also a tribunal spokesman. "That is a legacy of the ICTR."
But this legacy has some scholars wondering whether the connection between airwaves and mass graves has been overstated. Scott Straus, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin, has raised doubts about the potential culpability of the media in large-scale violence. In a 2007 paper drawing on the content of RTLM programming, interviews with perpetrators, and an analysis of RTLM's broadcast range compared to where violence occurred, Straus concluded that the station had, at worst, a "second-order impact" on the genocide that could not be equated with the influence of other factors, among them face-to-face mobilization by local leaders.
In analyzing his findings, he suggested that the starring role afforded RTLM in accounts of the genocide betrayed an attempt to explain away a complex, troubling conflict in a distant country that is otherwise of little significance.
Though he has not studied the Sang case closely, Straus said in an interview that the same concerns could apply to Kenya. "I don't think the media should be the prism through which we analyze and understand why these episodes of violence happen," he said. "I think they happen for much more complex reasons."
Keith Somerville, a journalism lecturer at Brunel University in the UK and an expert in so-called hate radio, has studied the Sang case. He said that, broader questions about the role of the media aside, there is "no comparison" between KASS and RTLM. "KASS was set up as a community station ... RTLM was specifically set up at a time of armed conflict or war in Rwanda," he said. "And it was set up by a very tightly defined extremist group with the idea of broadcasting violently anti-Tutsi propaganda."
Somerville said the evidence against Sang might be thin in light of the fact that there are few transcripts from the post-election violence. Those he has seen, he said, do not appear to implicate Sang directly in incitement. He noted, though, that the case could instead hinge on Sang's alleged role in organizing the violence in meetings before the election, and thus could have little to do with "Lene Emet."
If Ocampo's allegations do relate largely to Sang's on-air statements, however, Sang could argue that his free speech rights are being violated, Somerville said, adding that a reasonable comparison can be made between what KASS broadcast during the violence and what conservative American personalities such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh broadcast on a daily basis.
"You could say in some ways if KASS was operating in the United States it would have no trouble at all," Somerville said. "The difference is Kenya's [press] laws are much less defined."
Since being named a suspect, Sang has been profiled in a handful of local papers, invariably playing down his ties to the political establishment and playing up his roles as broadcaster and student (he was set to complete his bachelor's degree in journalism this spring). He has petitioned the ICC for legal funds and the Kenyan government for security, implicitly contrasting himself from Ocampo's five other suspects, an assortment of elite politicians and businessmen awash in cash and guards by virtue of their positions.
For his initial appearance in The Hague on April 7, Sang appeared with his arm in a sling, the result -- and this story was carried by all the papers -- of an injury reportedly sustained when an overzealous supporter pulled him down from the car he was riding on top of during a political rally. He introduced himself to judges that morning as an "innocent journalist."
The following week, in an interview at the KASS studios in Nairobi, he expressed confidence that the charges against him would not be confirmed -- a hearing on whether to send the case to trial has been scheduled for September -- saying his training and experience as a broadcaster necessarily precluded him from committing RTLM-style crimes.
"I cannot be compared even 0.01 percent. I can't," said Sang, his arm still in a sling. "We are in class, we have read about radio ethics. I myself, I am a Christian. I do not advocate killing. The pouring of blood is not part of my life."
He added, "Our job is to educate, entertain, and inform, not to incite."
As for the specific claims against him, he said, "According to my own conscience, these are framed allegations. I don't remember in my conscience saying things like that."
He also said the ICC was in danger of threatening protected speech. "If they take me to The Hague and I know I was doing my job professionally, then what are they telling journalists?"
These statements have little purchase for those who are already convinced of Sang's guilt -- including Karanja, the Kalenjin woman who married a Kikuyu and who lost her Rift Valley home in the violence. She said Sang is plainly hoping to take advantage of the fact that his broadcasts are only fully understood by Kalenjin-speakers.
"You can lie to other people who don't understand, but you cannot lie to me because I understand," she said.
Stella Ndirangu, legal officer for the International Commission of Jurists in Kenya, said she believed the available transcripts, though limited, would point to Sang's involvement in specific crimes.
"They gave updates using Sang's radio show on what they had conquered, what they had achieved, and [they were] giving plans for what they should be doing to advance their cause," Ndirangu said. "They would say, 'Today we have attacked this village and we're heading to this village.' The foot soldiers would know where they needed to go."
But even if no clear links emerge, the case law from Rwanda suggests that Sang would have a difficult challenge convincing judges of his innocence. In a landmark ruling against three of the RTLM journalists, ICTR judges ruled that it was not necessary to prove causation between what was broadcast and crimes on the ground.
"The Chamber recalls that incitement is a crime regardless of whether it has the effects it intends to have," the judges wrote in their verdict convicting all three of inciting genocide.
"In determining whether communications represent an intent to cause genocide and thereby constitute incitement, the Chamber considers it significant that in fact genocide occurred."
Govt Investigating Ocampo Six, Nation Tells ICC
AllAfrica.com
By Oliver Mathenge & Lillian Onyango
May 17, 2011
The government says it is investigating the Ocampo Six.
It has dismissed claims by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and post-election violence victims that police and judicial reforms in the country could hinder it from trying the six locally.
While defending its admissibility case at the ICC, the government said the elements necessary for success of its complementarity challenge to the court's admissibility are in place, providing it with the right to investigate and prosecute.
Through lawyers Geoffrey Nice and Rodney Dixon, the government dismissed the prosecution's assertions, terming them "not evidence-based and of little or no weight".
The government says that Mr Moreno-Ocampo's claims in his filing dated May 10 regarding Kenya's request for cooperation and access to his evidence were wrong and not corroborated with proof to show that Kenyan authorities had intentions of meddling with witnesses.
"An investigation into the six suspects is under way in a country that has undergone, and is continuing to undergo, reform of police and judicial procedures that have to be accorded respect not just for what they will provide in the future but for what they guarantee now for the due process that will be brought to the investigation and to any trial of any of the six suspects," the document reads.
The government has told the court that the investigations are being led by Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere.
Mr Iteere has, however, never been approached by the ICC prosecutor to discover what he and his police have been doing, it added.
"Should there be any questions raised about the genuineness of this investigation which covers the six suspects, the commissioner is ready to appear before the Pre-Trial Chamber to confirm and explain the investigative work that is presently being undertaken, the background to this investigation and his commitment to investigate thoroughly all allegations to their conclusion as soon as possible," the response reads.
It further says that Mr Iteere asserts that any evidence once provided to him concerning any of the six suspects would "be acted on immediately, objectively and dispassionately".
Potential witnesses
According to the document, the Kenyan Criminal Investigations Department is seeking the location of potential witnesses for interviews.
"All previous inquiries that have been undertaken are being reviewed for leads and further investigative work," says the government document.
In his argument, Mr Moreno-Ocampo expressed no confidence in the Kenyan Government's capabilities in providing protection for the witnesses.
He also said that any information made available to the government would be used to harass both the victims and witnesses.
Waki Still Advocates A Local Tribunal
Capital News
By Judie Kaberia
May 18, 2011
Speaking in Nanyuki during a meeting on domestic accountability for crimes, Justice Waki said though the International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted six Kenyans, the country should seek a mechanism that would deliver justice to the rest of victims and perpetrators.
"The perpetrators of the 2008 post-election violence crimes are in their hundreds at different levels of culpability. What happens to the significant number of perpetrators ... who will not and cannot be tried by the ICC?" he queried.
The Appeal Court judge said his Commission of Inquiry into Post Election Violence had hoped that Kenya would deal with the aftermath of the fighting to promote internal justice and address primary causes by tackling impunity as well as making people accountable for the crimes they committed.
He described the ICC process as an 'insurance policy' that came into being after Kenya failed to form a local tribunal.
"The recommendation that the names of alleged perpetrators be forwarded to the ICC was only assurance that justice would prevail in the event that Kenya failed to set up a Special Tribunal," he said.
Justice Waki said the effort of forming a local tribunal had been frustrated due to lack of political will and weak judicial systems.
He also blamed Kenya's incapacity to investigate and prosecute suspects.
According to Justice Waki, Kenya also lacked a proper system of defending, trying offences and using the Penal Code when investigating the perpetrators.
Justice Waki said the country also lacked a sufficient witness protection scheme, which was likely to risk the lives of those who appear as witnesses.
"Limited place of victims in the criminal justice system, except when they are required to appear as witnesses, their lack of protection and the absence of compensation and reparation programmes," he said.
That was the first time that Justice Waki spoke publicly since he handed over his commission's report in October, 2008.
The commission was set up to investigate the post election violence and make recommendations on how to avert future recurrences.
ICC has heavily been relying on the Waki evidence in its investigations of William Ruto, Henry Kosgei, Uhuru Kenyatta, Amb Francis Muthaura, Hussein Ali and Joshua arap Sang.
Justice Waki is one of the judges who have applied for the post of Supreme Court Judge.
He is scheduled to appear before the Judicial Service Commission for the interview early next month.
Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
ICC Prosecutor: Gaddafi Used His Absolute Authority to Commit Crimes in Libya
ICC Press Release
May 16, 2011
Today 16 May 2011, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested ICC judges to issue arrest warrants against Muammar Abu Minya Gaddafi, Saif Al Islam Gaddafi and the Head of the Intelligence Abdullah Al Sanousi from crimes against humanity committed in Libya since February 2011.
The Office gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Muammar Gaddafi himself, direct evidence of Saif Al Islam organizing the recruitment of mercenaries, and direct evidence of the participation of Al Sanousi in the attacks against demonstrators. Additionally the Office documented how the three held meetings to plan the operations.
The evidence shows that civilians were attacked in their homes; demonstrations were repressed using live ammunition, heavy artillery was used against participants in funeral processions, and snipers placed to kill those leaving the mosques after the prayers.
The evidence shows that persecution is still ongoing in the areas under Gaddafi control. Gaddafi's forces prepare lists with names of alleged dissidents. They are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear. "These are not just crimes against Libyans, they are crimes against humanity as a whole," the Prosecutor said.
This is the first case in Libya. The Office will further investigate allegations of massive rapes, war crimes committed by different parties during the armed conflict that started at the end of February, and attacks against sub-Saharan Africans wrongly perceived to be mercenaries. "There will be no impunity for such crimes in Libya," said the Prosecutor.
ICC judges will now decide to accept the Prosecutor's request, reject it or ask the Office of the Prosecutor for more evidence. The Prosecutor has not requested the intervention of international forces to implement the arrest warrants. Should the Court issue them and the three individuals remain in Libya, Libyan authorities have the primary responsibility to arrest them. When the time comes, implementing the arrest warrants will be the most effective way to protect civilians under attack in Libya and elsewhere.
The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
International Court Seeks Warrant for Qaddafi
The New York Times
By Marlise Simons
May 16, 2011
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Monday sought arrest warrants for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya, a son and the colonel's brother-in-law on charges of orchestrating systematic attacks against civilians that amount to crimes against humanity.
The chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Colonel Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanousi formed an inner circle that crushed peaceful demonstrations and ordered the use of live ammunition and heavy weapons against protesters.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said he had "direct evidence" that the three men had held meetings to plan and direct the operations. Mr. Qaddafi's "second-eldest son, Seif al-Islam, is a de facto prime minister, and Abdullah al-Sanousi is his right-hand man, his executioner," the prosecutor said.
A three-judge panel will decide whether to issue arrest warrants. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo seemed to send a clear message from Western governments when he said that it was not up to others, or NATO, but to Libyans themselves to make any arrests.
It was unclear what effect the court's action would have on the NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya, which has moved closer to the hiding places of the country's leadership. NATO officials were not immediately available at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Monday night to say whether an arrest warrant would embolden them to intensify airstrikes on Libya's command-and-control centers and, by extension, against Colonel Qaddafi and his son and brother-in-law.
But Oana Lungescu, the senior NATO spokeswoman, said by e-mail that the court's announcement was "further proof that the international isolation of the Qaddafi regime is growing every day." She added, "It is hard to imagine that a genuine transition in Libya can take place while those responsible for widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population remain in power."
At a news conference at The Hague, the prosecutor hinted that he had received intelligence from other governments, from Libyans outside the country and recently from "a lot of phone calls from inside Libya," but he said his office was not taking evidence from witnesses inside the country "because they can be killed." There was so much evidence, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said, that "we're almost ready for trial."
Jalal al-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebels' Transitional National Council, said he hoped that news of the arrest warrants might spur NATO to widen its bombing campaign. "I honestly believe it has to be continuous, relentless," Mr. Gallal said. "I think they realize it. They need to intensify now."
Officials in Tripoli have already said they will ignore any of the court's decisions, and there appears little chance that any of the three men named could be arrested at home any time soon.
Libya is not among the 114 countries that recognize the court. But in this case, the charges against Libyan leaders carry additional weight because it was the United Nations Security Council that unanimously decided in February to instruct the court to investigate the crackdown against civilians.
A senior Libyan official said the court had no jurisdiction over Libya because the Qaddafi government was not a signatory to the treaty that created it.
"Since we are not a party to the treaty, I think we will not be paying a lot of attention to the announcement of the I.C.C.," Khalid Kaim, a deputy foreign minister, told reporters early Monday.
Discussing Libya recently, some diplomats have said they hoped that the prospect of arrest warrants would prompt new defections from the Qaddafi ranks and press other countries to further isolate the accused or arrest them in the unlikely event that they traveled abroad. But others said that it would narrow the list of places where Colonel Qaddafi or his close associates could go into exile, should such a deal be made. While governments can promise immunity from prosecution, the court cannot.
Lawyers in The Hague said the naming of Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, for a time believed to be a reformer, made it clear that he was now playing a central part in the repression, meaning he could no longer be a transitional figure or peace broker, as some had thought.
Although the threat of pending criminal charges has been well known in Tripoli for weeks, there has been little evidence that it has been a deterrent to Colonel Qaddafi or those around him.
Investigators for the prosecution have conducted their interviews in a dozen countries and have had access to defectors from the Libyan government, according to the prosecutor's office.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that ample evidence showed that Colonel Qaddafi "personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians."
"His forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in the public space, shot demonstrators with live ammunition, used heavy weaponry against participants in funeral processions and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after the prayers."
Persecution was continuing in the areas under Mr. Qaddafi's control, he said, and a network of informants had prepared lists of dissidents "who are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear."
Investigations have focused on the initial violent clampdown against protesters, although the prosecutor said that other crimes were being examined.
Hours after the court's announcement, the Tripoli government issued a statement denying it had "ordered the killing of civilians, or hired mercenaries against our people." It added, "It is the rebels who took up arms in the middle of our peaceful cities and caused the death of many people" and recruited "fighters from several nationalities."
Even if the warrants result in indictments, the prosecutor must depend on the political will of others to capture suspects because the international court has no police powers.
Sudan Foreign Ministry Criticizes ICC Arrest Warrant Against Gaddafi
Xinhuanet
May 17, 2011
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi and some of his assistances, reported Al-Raeam daily on Wednesday.
"Realization of justice against whoever committed violations is a matter decided by the Libyan people alone," the report quoted Khalid Musa, spokesman of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying.
"Realization of justice in Africa is a matter that is decided by peoples and internal judiciary institution and is not subject to decisions of the ICC which turns a blind eye to grave violations that take place in many parts of the world and focuses only on the African countries or the so-called easy and soft targets," he added.
The Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman reiterated that Sudan's stance was based on a firm principle that stands on sovereignty of the peoples in achieving justice.
He further renewed Sudan's accusation of the ICC that it still constituted a political instrument to impose hegemony and a mechanism for a selective justice that targets the African Head of States.
The ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday requested arrest warrants against the Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif Al Islam Gaddafi and Libya's head of Intelligence Agency Abdullah Al Sanousi, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity.
The ICC prosecutor said Gaddafi's forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in the public space, repressed demonstrations with live ammunition, used heavy artillery against participants in funeral processions, and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after the prayers.
Gaddafi has become the second sitting president against whom an arrest warrant was issued after the Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him on March 4, 2009, accusing him of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's Darfur region which has been suffering a civil war since 2003.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
Ndahimana to Close His Defence Case by May 13
Hirondelle News Agency
May 9, 2011
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Monday insisted that the defence case for former Rwandan Mayor Grégoire Ndahimana should be closed by May 13, 2011.
"We would like to remind the defence that it should close its case by May 13. There must be end of litigation," the Presiding Judge Florence Rita Arrey said after the defence had failed to field its witness codenamed ND20 who had been scheduled to testify when the hearing resumed.
Earlier, the defendant's lead counsel Bharat Chadha had sought for appropriate direction after the witness failed to show up on claims that he received death threats on his life.
"The witness is material and very crucial. We still hope that the presence of the witness could be procured. We ask the Chamber to order or give directives so that this important witness can appear and testify," the counsel urged.
However, the judge said the information received suggests that the witness was not willing to come. "It is clear from the information we have received that the witness is not willing to come. This is not the first time he is doing so. This is costing the Tribunal. The witness should be dropped by the defence," she ordered.
Following such order, only one witness has remained to testify for Ndahimana, former Mayor of Kivumu Commune in Kibuye prefecture (Western Rwanda). The witness is expected to testify on May 12, 2011. Already 29 witnesses have testified for the defendant since he began presenting his case on January 17, 2011.
Ndahimana is charged with genocide or complicity in genocide, in the alternative and extermination, as a crime against humanity. He is accused of planning the massacres at Nyange Church in his commune jointly with other officials, including the parish priest, father Athanase Seromba, currently serving life imprisonment sentence for his involvement.
Others are businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga, who was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for similar offence and Fulgence Kayishema, former Judicial Police Inspector of the commune, who is still at large. More than 2000 Tutsi refugees were allegedly killed at the church.
Ndahimana was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on August 10, 2009. He was transferred to Arusha on August 21, 2009. He made his initial appearance on September 28, 2009 and denied all the charges.
Defence Case of Captain Nizeyimana Begins
Hirondelle News Agency
May 9, 2011
Deogratis Basesayabo, first defence witness in the case of former Rwandan military officer, Captain Idelphonse Nizeyimana told the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Monday about three events where patients mostly Tutsis were abducted from the Butare University Teaching Hospital and killed after mid April, 1994.
Basesayabo who was doing his Medical Internship at the hospital said beginning April 15, 1994 the hospital was receiving wounded patients including civilians and soldiers and even other members of the population who were not wounded but sought refugee, as the hospital was considered a safer place compared to other areas engulfed with violence.
"A nurse told us in the morning of April 16,(1994) that soldiers abducted 10 patients and shot them dead outside the fence of the hospital," Basesayabo told the court as he was being led in his examination in-chief by the accused lead defence Counsel, John Philpot.
He added that there were two more such events where patients were abducted by soldiers and militiamen at night and led to their death next to the hospital compound and that most of the victims were considered to be Tutsis.
He explained that doctors, nurses and other hospital staff continued to work but as the security situation deteriorated, they started fleeing from the hospital especially when bombs commenced shelling near the hospital.
The witness though admitted to see three roadblocks one manned by Presidential Guard soldiers, the other one by the students of the University and the third by students of the Non-Commissioned Officers Military Academy (ESO), he did not witness dead bodies at those areas but he saw some bodies along the road near the hospital.
The Prosecution took over to cross examine the witness after defence completed examination in-chief of the witness.
According to Counsel John Philpot, his team expects to call between 45 and 50 witnesses for the defence of their client.
The prosecution started its case on January 17, 2011 and rested it, on February 25 after presenting 38 witnesses.
Capt. Nizeyimana is charged with genocide, extermination, murder and rape. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Several prosecution witnesses alleged that Capt. Nizeyimana among others ordered, supervised and organized the massacres of Tutsis in various places in Butare, including that of Queen Rosalie Gicanda, the widower of the last but one Rwandan King Mutara III, Rudahingwa on or about April 21, 1994.
The defendant was arrested in Uganda on October 5, 2009 and transferred to the UN Detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania the following day.
Kabuga's Special Deposition Proceedings Now Scheduled for May 23
Hirondelle News Agency
May 10, 2011
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has rescheduled to May 23, 2011 the commencement of special deposition proceedings in the case of the most wanted genocide fugitive Félicien Kabuga.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances that have arisen, it will not be possible for the special deposition proceedings in this case to commence on May 16, 2011 as previously ordered. Instead, the proceedings will commence on Monday, May 23, 2011," Judge Vagn Joensen said in his variation order.
Judge Joensen, who will conduct the proceedings, said in the order dated May 6, 2011 that the session will continue until the depositions of all the prosecution witnesses are recorded.
"The proceedings will take place from Monday through Thursday each week, with a break during the week of June 6 to 10, 2011," he said.
While rescheduling the commencement date of the proceedings, the judge on the same day granted the prosecution's request to have twelve Rwandan detainees transferred to the United Nation Detention Facilities (UNDF) in Arusha. The detainees are among prosecution witnesses expected to testify during the proceedings.
"Therefore, I find that the prosecution has fulfilled the requirements under Rule 90 bis for the transfer of the twelve detained witnesses," Judge Joensen said in another decision on the prosecution's request for transfer of the said detainees.
Apart from Kabuga, who is alleged to be the main financier of the 1994 Tutsi genocide, other fugitives whom the prosecution seeks to safeguard evidence are Augustin Bizimana, former Minister of Defence and Major Protais Mpiranya, who was Commander of the Presidential Guard.
The prosecution considers the three figures as key suspects among the 10 still on the run. The ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow is seeking special deposition proceedings to be conducted for the trio, fearing that the evidence may be lost or deteriorate due to the passage of time, death and incapacity of unavailability of witnesses. These are first requests of its kind in the ICTR history.
In another decision given on May 5, 2011, the Tribunal granted the prosecutor's request for taking special deposition proceedings in the case of Bizimana after considering his position as a high-profile fugitive and the importance of his apprehension and trial to the many victims of his alleged crimes.
"In light of these circumstances, the Chamber concludes that it is in the interest of justice that evidence relating to the indictment be preserved for a future trial by special deposition," the Tribunal ruled. However, no date has been set for commencement of the proceedings.
According to sources at ICTR, Kabuga is said to be carrying out his commercial activities in Kenya, while Mpiranya is allegedly being protected by senior officials in Zimbabwe, whereas Bizimana may be hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Diplomat Claims Did Not Witness Soldiers Manning Roadblocks in Rwanda
Hirondelle News Agency
May 10, 2011
Jean Ghiste, former Belgian Diplomat in Rwanda and Burundi, Tuesday alleged before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) that he did not witness soldiers manning roadblocks as he traveled from Burundi to Rwanda in mid May, 1994.
Ghiste, who by then also represented French-speaking Community of Belgians in the two countries, was testifying for the defence of former Rwandan military officer, Captain Idelphonse Nizeyimana now facing charges of genocide, extermination, murder and rape at the Tribunal.
"Civilians were the ones mainly controlling the roadblocks and I did not see real soldiers manning the roadblocks," he told the Chamber presided by Judge Lee Muthoga as he narrated about the trip he made from Burundi to Butare in Rwanda by road and back between May 16 and 17, 1994.
The prosecution charged that from April 7, 1994 until mid July, the same year, Capt. Nizeyimana ordered and instigated soldiers from various military camps to construct and man roadblocks throughout Butare prefecture.
The witness said he, with a colleague made the trip to assess humanitarian needs for Rwanda then engulfed with violence and massacres.
Led in his examination in chief by the accused Co-counsel, Cainnech Lussiaa-Berdou, the witness said that after crossing the Burundi border into Rwanda on the period in question he surprisingly noticed people of different ages carrying machetes and other weapons, something he admitted he had never seen before in Rwanda.
Ghiste told the Chamber during cross examination by Prosecution Attorney, Drew White that although he saw signs of civil violence he did not witness any dead bodies during his travel to and from Rwanda on that trip.
The third defence witness completed his testimony and paved way to another defence witness to take the floor.
The defendant was arrested in Uganda on October 5, 2009 and transferred to the UN Detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania the following day.
ICTR Sanctions Defence Team for Former Rwandan Youth Minister
Hirondelle News Agency
May 11, 2011
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has sanctioned the defence for former Youth Minister Callixte Nzabonimana for misconduct for disclosing the name of a protected prosecution witness in its motion seeking admission of a document in the defendant's case.
"The Trial Chamber sanctions the defence in accordance with Rule 46 (A) and directs the Registry to deny fees the defence team in relation to all work performed in relation to the preparation of the present motion," it said in its decision dated May 10, 2011.
Nzabonimana's lawyers are Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse, as lead counsel and Philippe Larochelle as co-counsel. According to the Chamber, as Rule 77 makes abundantly clear, violating the protective measures imposed by a Trial Chamber was an extremely serious matter that was punishable as criminal contempt of the Tribunal.
"While the Chamber does not feel that such stern sanctions are warranted in the present circumstances, it nevertheless concludes that the actions of the defence are contrary to the interests of justice and sufficiently serious to warrant formal sanction pursuant to Rule 46 (A)," it ruled.
The Chamber recalled that the defence has received numerous warnings with respect to both its in-court behaviour and written pleadings throughout the course of proceedings and was, therefore, satisfied that a further warning would be adequate given the gravity of the conduct at issue.
In its motion, the defence had sought for admission into evidence a transcript from the trial involving ex-top officials of the then Rwandan ruling party, MRND, under which a witness contradicted the prosecution's evidence that Nzabonimana had ordered the killings of mayors and other officials in Gitarama prefecture who were opposed to the slaughter of Tutsis.
The Chamber, in another decision given the same day, declared that it shall conduct a site visit to six locations in Gitarama, Central Rwanda, from September 5 to 9, 2011, which shall be inclusive of return travel between the seat of the Tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania and Rwanda.
On May 6, 2011, the Trial Chamber declared the evidence phase in the proceedings to be closed and set a deadline of July 5, 2011 for the parties to submit their closing arguments.
Nzabonimana, who was arrested in Tanzania on February 18, 2008, is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, extermination and murder. His trial opened on November 9, 2009.
The prosecution called 20 witnesses to support the charges, while the defence fielded 37 to counter the defendant's allegation.
ICTR Protected Witness to Testify Under His Real Identity in Denmark
Hirondelle News Agency
May 12, 2011
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has waived protective measures enjoyed by one of its anonymous witnesses to help the Denmark's Special International Crimes Office to investigate and eventually prosecute genocide-suspect Emmanuel Mbarushimana.
The witness testified for prosecution at the Tribunal from February 16 to 19, 2004 under the code name RV in the Butare trial involving six accused, including former Rwandan Minister for Women and Family Affairs, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the only woman indicted at ICTR, who is waiting delivery of judgment in her case.
According to a decision issued by a Trial Chamber on May 10, 2011, the witness is now willing to testify under his real identity and in open session in the Danish proceedings involving Mbarushimana over his alleged role in crimes committed in Rwanda in 1994.
The Trial Chamber recalled that guiding principles of state cooperation under Article 28 (1) of the Statute also apply to requests for cooperation or judicial assistance from states to the Tribunal, in their investigation or prosecution of persons accused of committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Moreover, it noted, the investigation and eventual prosecution by Denmark's Special International Crimes Office of crimes committed in Rwanda in 1994, requiring the involvement of witness RV, was in line with the principles of state cooperation envisaged by the completion strategy in Security Council Resolutions 1503 and 1534.
In its motion to rescind the protective measures of the witness, the prosecution had stated that the assistance to Denmark was in consistence with Article 28 of the Tribunal's Statute, its jurisprudence and Security Council Resolutions 1503 of 2003 and 1534 of 2004.
According to the prosecution, jurisprudence has expanded Rule 75 (F) (i) to apply to proceedings in other jurisdictions and not just before the Tribunal. It added that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) amended the said Rule to apply to proceedings in other jurisdictions.
Mbarushimana is accused of having played a big part on Tutsi's massacres in Maganzo commune Butare prefecture during the genocide.
The Danish authorities arrested him in connection with the allegations on December 8, 2010. The Special International Crimes Office has been investigating several cases involving genocide suspects since its creation in 2002.
Former Rwandan Mayor Closes His Defense Case
Hirondelle News Agency
May 13, 2011
The defence for former Rwandan Mayor Grégoire Ndahimana Thursday closed its case after calling 30 witnesses for its client before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
The last witness called was businessman Anicet Tumusenge, currently living in Belgium, who claimed to have driven Ndahimana, who was Mayor of Kivumu Commune, Kibuye prefecture in Western Rwanda, to the governor's office where he went to seek assistance of gendarmes following attacks of Tutsis who took refuge at Nyange Parish in the commune.
Following the closure, the Presiding Judge Florence Rita Arrey ordered the parties to prepare for the site visit starting June 7 to 10, 2011 in Rwanda. Among areas to be visited include the Nyange parish and its environs.
Other areas are former Kivumu commune office, areas adjacent to the parish, including fields belonging to the parish in 1994, Nyange trading centre, the Virgin Mary Statue and former pharmacy of businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga.
Judge Arrey further ordered that both prosecution and defence should file their closing briefs simultaneously on July 25, 2011. "Oral arguments will be presented on September 21 and 22, 2011," she declared.
Ndahimana opened his defence case on January 17, 2011 to counter charges of genocide or complicity in genocide, in the alternative and extermination, as a crime against humanity, he is facing.
He is accused of planning massacres of Tutsis who sought refuge at the Nyange Church between April 14 and 16, 1994, jointly with other officials, including the parish priest, father Athanase Seromba, currently serving life imprisonment sentence for his involvement.
Others are businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga, who was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for similar offence and Fulgence Kayishema, former Judicial Police Inspector of the commune, who is still at large. More than 2000 Tutsi refugees were allegedly killed at the church.
Ndahimana was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on August 10, 2009. He was transferred to Arusha on August 21, 2009. He made his initial appearance on September 28, 2009 and denied all the charges.
His trial took off on September 6, 2010 and the prosecution called 15 witnesses to support the charges against him before closing its case on November 19, 2010.
Appeals Chamber Denies Hategekimana Judicial Assistance Request
Hirondelle News Agency
May 16, 2011
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has denied the request by genocide-convict, Lieutenant Ildephonse Hategekimana, seeking cooperation and judicial assistance from Belgium and Canada to have access to information underpinning his sincerity.
Hategekimana, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 6, 2010 for genocide, among other offences, had sought access to statements and testimony of certain prosecution witnesses from his trial that appeared before the Belgium and Canada's domestic courts in 2001 and 2007, respectively.
The Chamber, however, ruled that "materials sought by Hategekimana could have been obtained prior to the commencement of his trial on March 16, 2009. Hategekimana fails to provide any reason why he could not have discovered this material earlier in the exercise of due diligence."
In addition, the Chamber observed, apart from general submissions concerning relationship between his case and domestic proceedings in Belgium and Canada, Hategekimana, a former Rwandan military officer, could not show the failure to obtain the material had potential to result in a miscarriage of justice.
"Accordingly, the Appeals Chamber is not satisfied that Hategekimana has demonstrated the exceptional circumstances necessary to justify (its) intervention for investigative assistance at the appeal stage," it said in a decision made available to Hirondelle News Agency on Monday. Other offences Hategekimana was convicted of are murder and rape as crimes against humanity. The former military officer was a commander of small military camp of Ngoma, in Butare (southern Rwanda) in 1994.
Hategekimana was arrested in Congo Brazzaville on February 16, 2003 and transferred to the UN-Detention Facility in Arusha three days later. His trial started on March 16, 2009.
The prosecution called 20 witnesses before concluding its case on May 4, 2009, while the defendant rested his case on October 7, 2009 after fielding same number of witnesses.
ICTR Frees One Rwandan General, Sentences Another to 30 Years Imprisonment
Hirondelle News Agency
May 17, 2011
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Tuesday ordered the immediate release of former Chief of Staff of Rwandan Gendarmerie, General Augustin Ndindiliyimana and sentenced that of the Army, General Augustin Bizimungu, to 30 years imprisonment for genocide, among others.
While ex-Commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye and Captain Innocent Sagahutu, a member of the unity, jointly charged with the two generals were ordered to remain behind bars for 20 years each after being convicted of crime against humanity and war crimes.
Ndindiliyimana was released after a Trial Chamber sentenced him to time served since his arrest in Belgium on January 29, 2000 after finding his mitigating factors warranting.
"The Chamber has noted Ndindiliyimana's limited command over the gendarmerie after April 6, 1994, his consistent support for Arusha Accords and peaceful resolution of conflict between the Rwandan government forces and the RPF and his opposition to the massacres in Rwanda," presiding Judge Joseph Asoka de Silva said.
For other convicts, the judge said, would also receive credit for the time they served since their arrests. Bizimungu was arrested in Angola on August 2, 2002, while Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu were apprehended in France and Denmark, respectively, on February 15, 2000.
The two generals were convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for offenses perpetrated by military soldiers and gendarmes under their command in 1994. In addition Bizimungu was found to have made a speech in Mukongo Commune, calling for start of killing of Tutsis in Ruhengeri prefecture.
For Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu, the Chamber convicted them of crime against humanity and war crimes committed by their subordinates. The duo ordered the killing Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and failed to punish perpetrators involved in killing 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers, on April 7, 1994, the judgement adds.
In his reaction, ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow said they would study the judges reasoning in assessment of sentences imposed to each accused and decide whether they would appeal or not.
However, he said, "We are quite satisfied with the findings. The judgement is very important to all persons in position in the leadership, especially military commanders. As clearly established, superiors will be held legally responsible for acts of their subordinates."
Ndindiliyimana, on his part, expressed his happiness for being released after remaining in detention for 11 years. His lawyer, Christopher Black, joined his client for the happiness.
Defence Counsels Charles Taku and Fabien Segatwa, for Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu, respectively, said they would appeal against the verdict.
ICTR Judgement for Four Military Officers Important, Says Jallow
Hirondelle News Agency
May 18, 2011
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) , Hassan Jallow, has welcomed the judgement delivered on Tuesday by the Tribunal in the case of four former Rwandan military officers, saying it is very important to all persons, particularly in the military hierarchy.
The Tribunal convicted two former Chiefs of Staffs of the Army, General Augustin Bizimungu and that of the Gendarmerie, Augustin Ndindiliyimana of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Bizimungu was jailed 30 years, while Ndindiliyimana was sentenced to the time served since his arrest on January 29, 2000.
Whereas, other two officers, ex-Commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye and Captain Innocent Sagahutu, a member of the unity, were ordered to remain behind bars for 20 years each, after being convicted of crime against humanity and war crimes.
According to Jallow, "The judgement is important to all persons in position of the leadership especially for military commanders. It establishes very clearly that superiors will be held legally responsible for the acts committed by their subordinates."
He added, "I think that message ought to go out. Leaders are expected to prevent their subordinates from engaging in unlawful activities or if they cannot prevent them to punish them thereafter. It is an excellent message that needed to be disseminated globally in Africa and beyond."
The Tribunal acquitted the four former army officers of the offence of conspiracy as what happened in the case of the other four military officials, including Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, on December 18, 2008.
However, Jallow says that the prosecution did not loose totally in the present case as the judges recognized that there had been plan to exterminate Tutsis.
"The judges said that what happened in Rwanda in 1994, the genocide, could have not happened in the absence of some kind of coordination, organization and planning" he said.
According to him, the issue was as to whether the four accused conspired to commit genocide and the judges were not satisfied that they conspired to commit genocide.
The judgement was also welcomed by Rwandan Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga in Kigali. He said, "Sentencing the army officers is particularly important because if the army had wanted, genocide would have not occurred. The army deviated from its role and commanders deserve punishment."
However, he pointed out that people from Rwanda were not satisfied by the release of Ndindiliyimana. The latter was released after a Trial Chamber sentenced him to the time he spent in detention since 2000.
The Secretary General of Ibuka, an organization for genocide survivors, Janvier Forongo, went further and advised the ICTR prosecutor to appeal because the sentences imposed on those genocide planners were in the lower side.
In the judgement, the Chamber found the two generals responsible for offenses perpetrated by soldiers and gendarmes under their command in 1994. In addition Bizimungu was found to have made a speech in Mukongo Commune, calling for start of killing of Tutsis in Ruhengeri prefecture.
While for Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu, according to the judgement, ordered the killing of the Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and failed to punish perpetrators involved in killing 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers on April 7, 1994.
Military Officers Convicted of Killing of Premier
Hirondelle News Agency
May 19, 2011
Former senior Rwanda military officers ordered the killing of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana on April 7, 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) says in its judgement delivered Tuesday in the case of four ex-military officers.
Major Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye was Commander of the Reconnaissance (RECCE) Battalion, while Captain Innocent Sagahutu was a member of the unity.
"Throughout the attack, Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu remained in contact with the troops on the ground, sending them supplies and issuing operational instructions. Consequently, the Chamber finds Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu ordered the killing of Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana," reads the judgement.
The Trial Chamber convicted the duo of crime against humanity and war crimes for their role in the death of the prime minister and killings of 10 Belgian peacekeepers. They have been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each.
In its judgement, the Chamber found that the prosecution adduced credible and consistent evidence establishing that RECCE soldiers participated in the attack and killing of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and considered her death to be of great significance.
"Based on the evidence, the Chamber finds (prosecution) proved beyond reasonable doubt that her death was a result of an organized military operation carried out with the authorization of senior military officers," it ruled.
According to the judgement, the Chamber was satisfied that an armoured unit from RECCE battalion under instructions of Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu was involved in the premier's death. It found that the duo also aided and abetted the direct perpetrators, as an aggravating factor.
Regarding the killing of 10 Belgian peacekeepers, the Chamber also found Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu criminally responsible as superiors. Though there was no evidence for his participation in the attack, the Chamber discovered that Nzuwonemeye knew about the killings.
"Nzuwonemeye himself admitted to learning about the killings on his return from the meeting at ESM (Ecole Supérieure Militaire, the Senior Military Officers' School). Despite his knowledge, the Chamber is not satisfied that (he) took sufficient steps to punish those RECCE members involved in the killings," it said.
In the case of Sagahutu, the Chamber found that he was informed of presence of the Belgian peacekeepers in the UNAMIR building that were being attacked in camp Kigali despite their resistance and, thereafter, he instructed soldiers to put down the resistance by the peace corps.
Also in the judgement, two generals, Augustin Bizimungu, who was Chief of Staff of the Army and that of Gendarmerie, Augustin Ndindiliyimana, charged jointly with Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu, were convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Bizimungu was jailed 30 years, while Ndindiliyimana was sentenced to the time served since his arrest on January 29, 2000.
Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
Official Website of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone 'anxiously' awaits Taylor verdict: official
Associated Free Press
May 14, 2011
Sierra Leone was "anxiously" awaiting the verdict in the war crimes trial of Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor, a top official said Saturday, as prosecutors from six international criminal tribunals gathered in the capital Freetown.
"The proceeding of Taylor's trial... is being followed closely and we still continue to wait anxiously for the verdict," Vice President Sam Sumana said of the trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Netherlands that wrapped up in March. A judgement is expected this summer.
Sumana made his comments at the opening of a two-day meeting of prosecutors from the world's six UN-backed international criminal tribunals.
He added that "the prosecutors' meeting will showcase that international criminal tribunals are not only to deliver justice but a respect for the rule of law."
The vice president stressed that "international criminal justice has enabled Sierra Leone to enjoy peace and stability."
Taylor, the first African head of state to face an international tribunal, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity on claims that he armed Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in exchange for illegally mined so-called "blood diamonds".
The Sierra Leone civil war claimed some 120,000 lives in the 10 years to 2001, with RUF rebels, described by the prosecution as Taylor's "surrogate army", mutilating thousands of civilians by hacking off their limbs.
The president of the Amputee Association, Jusu Jakkah, who attended the opening ceremony, told AFP that the event was "a good initiative for the various prosecutors to get together under one roof to share ideas and give motivation to the many victims of atrocities around the world."
"It gives us hope and strengthens our courage that we have not been forgotten," he said.
In the case of Taylor, he said, "We want to see justice prevail as we are victims (of the) 10-year-long war" in Sierra Leone.
The prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Brenda Hollis, who chaired the meeting, said the court was nearing its lifespan and discussions would begin for its replacement.
"We shall discuss closure and legacy issues and hold sessions with civil societies as to the way forward," she said.
She also said that the "prosecutors at the meeting will share the experiences of their offices as many of the issues are much the same regardless of the state (where) the crimes were committed."
It is the second time the prosecutors' meeting is being held in Sierra Leone, following one in 2005, according to records provided by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Besides that court, the other five tribunals in attendance are the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Court of Cambodia, Special International Tribunal of Lebanon, and the International Criminal Court.
Prosecutors Urge States to Hand over World Crime Suspects
Times Live
May 16, 2011
Prosecutors from the six world criminal courts meeting in Sierra Leone urged state authorities to find and hand over international criminal suspects before chances to try them expired.
There was an "urgent need for states to locate, arrest and transfer fugitives to the international criminal courts and tribunals whose closures are fast approaching," they said at the end of a two-day meeting Sunday.
Their statement also urged national authorities to "ensure full commitment to the end of impunity and to eliminating safe havens for those suspected or indicted for international crimes." Sierra Leone, where the prosecutors from UN-backed tribunals met for the second time, is to be the first to close its special court after wrapping up the prosecution of former Liberian president Charles Taylor.
He is facing 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity on claims that he armed Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in exchange for illegally mined so-called "blood diamonds" during a brutal civil war.
The prosecutors said witnesses should be free to testify without fear that their personal safety and security would be endangered, urging protection and support for victims, witnesses and confidential sources.
Asked about the possible indictment of Libya's Moamer Kadhafi, International Criminal Court deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensoada said: "I am not in the position to disclose the names of the three individuals we are making out warrants of arrest for." Besides the ICC and Sierra Leone court, other tribunals at the meeting were the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Court of Cambodia and Special International Tribunal of Lebanon.
European Court of Human Rights
Stop Meddling in Asylum Cases, Unelected Euro Judges Warned by 47 Countries
MailOnline
By James Slack
April 28, 2011
Human rights judges in Strasbourg were last night instructed by all of Europe to stop blocking the deportation of failed asylum seekers and terrorists.
Each of the 47 countries which oversee the unelected European Court of Human Rights issued a joint statement saying the judges' meddling in national affairs must end.
Ministers hope it will pave the way for the UK to deport more foreign criminals, asylum rejects and preachers of hate.
The declaration by the Council of Europe is a humiliating rebuke for Strasbourg, which has effectively been slapped down by its own parent body.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke was instrumental in persuading other countries to join the attack on the European Court.
It indicates that - in the wake of the prisoner voting row - the Government's patience with Strasbourg has finally snapped.
Writing exclusively for the Mail, Mr Clarke says the court has been 'defending the indefensible'. In future, he wants our own Supreme Court to have the final say over who is deported in asylum and immigration matters.
Mr Clarke writes: 'When human rights are more often associated with defending the indefensible than protecting the vulnerable, we must act.'
The Council of Europe oversees the Strasbourg court and is charged with enforcing its judgments.
The ultimate sanction against any country that ignores the court is to be ejected from the Council.
Its declaration is not binding on the judges - who have repeatedly rode roughshod over the wishes of the British Parliament. But it sends the strongest possible message that the Court's antics will no longer be tolerated.
In particular, the Court will be toothless if member states refuse to enforce its rulings.
The declaration, made at a conference in Turkey, instructs the Court - 'when examining cases related to asylum and immigration' - to assess and take full account of the effectiveness of domestic procedures'.
It adds: 'Where these procedures are seen to operate fairly and with respect for human rights, to avoid intervening except in the most exceptional circumstances.'
In Britain, this means that Strasbourg should no longer stop the deportation of failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals or terrorists claiming their 'human right' to a family life.
Foreign criminals are also increasingly avoiding deportation on 'family life' grounds.
It follows European judgments which appear to go beyond the original meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Convention says that - while nobody should be deported to countries where they face torture - the right to a family life should be balanced against criminality and other rule-breaking.
Tory MP Dominic Raab, who led the protest over prisoner voting, said: 'Whilst a political declaration by the Committee does not bind the Strasbourg Court, it shows that ministers across Europe believe the judges have gone too far.'
Britain remains bound by the Human Rights Act, which has itself blocked countless deportations in our domestic courts.
However, it will be hoped that - by limiting the power of the European court - our judges will be less likely to try to second guess what would happen if their verdict was appealed in Strasbourg.
Yesterday's Council of Europe declaration also provides two other steps to improve the Court.
Charges could be introduced for anybody wanting to appeal to Strasbourg to deter spurious claims.
And member states have all promised to send only 'good candidates' to serve as judges. Currently, only 23 of 47 of the judges have prior judicial experience in their homeland.
Terrorist fanatics who have managed to stay in Britain by appealing to the European court include Abu Qatada - dubbed Osama bin Laden's 'ambassador in Europe'.
Despite this, Qatada was paid £2,500 by the ECHR for being 'unlawfully detained' by the British Government, after being held indefinitely without trial following 9/11.
A ruling found that keeping him in prison, while he refused to return to his native Jordan, breached his human right to a fair trial.
The Government is trying to deport him to Jordan, where he has been sentenced to jail in his absence on terror charges.
German Rights Group Accuses Dias of War-Crimes
TamilNet
By Nick Lyne
May 4, 2011
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) Tuesday released a document which the group claimed "substantiates allegations of war crimes committed by the 57 Division of the Sri Lankan Army under the command of Jagath Dias." ECCHR appealed to the German Government to take the allegations levelled against Major General Dias' 57 Division seriously, and to seriously investigate his [Dias's] individual criminal responsibility. ECCHR also appealed to the German Government to withdraw the diplomatic visa of Major General Dias as well as declare him a persona non grata.
The allegations follow the filing of a complaint by Switzerland Council of Eezham Tamils (SCET), the Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils (NCET), and the US based NGO, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) in July of last year, against the Federal Republic of Germany with the European Courts of Human Rights (ECHR) for violating the 'European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms' in accepting Maj. Gen. (retd.) Jegath Dias as deputy Counsel in Sri Lanka's embassy.
The European Court of Human Rights is yet to respond to the filed complaint.
"In breach of its obligations under international law, in particular those outlined in the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, the German Government failed to investigate and accordingly prosecute allegations of war crimes. Instead, it granted a suspect of war crimes a diplomatic passport. As such, one of the main suspects has now been in residence in Berlin for almost one and a half years, allowing him to threaten members of the Tamil diaspora whenever they contact their embassy," the ECCHR complaint said.
German judicial system, based on the principles of Roman Law, is a civil law system where judges base their decision on comprehensive system of legal codes.
The website of the Rights Group says, "ECCHR initiates, develops, and supports high-impact, strategic human rights litigation to hold state and non-state actors accountable for the violations of the rights of the most vulnerable. ECCHR focuses on cases with the greatest likelihood of setting precedents and advancing policies that strengthen the legal framework for global human rights accountability. ECCHR actively litigates cases and but also researches, investigates, and helps to coordinate the development strategies of legal advocacy around cases."
Khamzayev and Others v. Russia: The Application of Human Rights Law in Armed Conflict Situations
The Lex Specialis
May 5, 2011
The ECtHR delivered two judgments (Kerimova and Others v. Russia, Khamzayev and Others v. Russia) this week concerning Russian military air strikes on a town in Chechnya purportedly occupied by Chechen rebels.
Here are the principle facts according to the press release:
On 2 October 1999, Russian military planes attacked Urus-Martan, where the Russian authorities had previously launched a counter-terrorism operation. One of the bombs hit the block of flats in which Ms Kerimova lived with her family, killing her brother and husband and wounding her and her three minor children. On 19 October 1999, the town again came under aerial attack by Russian federal forces. The bombing resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries to 16 people, including three of the applicants, and in the destruction or damage of 40 houses, including those inhabited by 18 of the applicants in the case Kerimova and Others and the one inhabited by Ms Tovgayeva in the second case. In December 1999, the town was taken over by Russian federal troops.
Interestingly enough the Court applied the same approach it did in the Turkish (Ergi v Turkey and Ozkan v Turkey) and Russian-Chechen cases (Isayeva I and Isayeva II). Unlike the Inter-American Commission (which applied IHL directly) or the Inter-American Court (which allowed the use of IHL as "interpretive guidance" for applying IHRL), the ECtHR tends not to make explicit reference to IHL in its judgments when a case involves an armed conflict situation. Though similar terms, phrases or rules may be seemingly borrowed from IHL-the standards the Court applies can be significantly different.
In the Khamzayev the Court first describes the "right to life" standard applicable in the case:
The Court reiterates that Article 2, which safeguards the right to life and sets out the circumstances where deprivation of life may be justified, ranks as one of the most fundamental provisions in the Convention, from which in peacetime no derogation is permitted under Article 15. The situations where deprivation of life may be justified are exhaustive and must be narrowly interpreted. The use of force which may result in the deprivation of life must be no more than "absolutely necessary" for the achievement of one of the purposes set out in Article 2 sect. 2 (a), (b) and (c). This term indicates that a stricter and more compelling test of necessity must be employed than that normally applicable when determining whether State action is "necessary in a democratic society" under paragraphs 2 of Articles 8 to 11 of the Convention. Consequently, the force used must be strictly proportionate to the achievement of the permitted aims. In the light of the importance of the protection afforded by Article 2, the Court must subject deprivations of life to the most careful scrutiny, particularly where deliberate lethal force is used, taking into consideration not only the actions of State agents who actually administer the force but also all the surrounding circumstances including such matters as the planning and control of the actions under examination.
And in applying an essentially "law enforcement standard" to the facts the Court holds:
Against this background and in the light of the principles stated in paragraph 178 above, the Court may be prepared to accept that the Russian authorities had no choice other than to carry out aerial strikes in order to be able to take over Urus-Martan, and that their actions were in pursuit of the aim set out in paragraph 2 (a) of Article 2 of the Convention, as alleged by the Government. It is, however, not convinced, having regard to the materials at its disposal, that the necessary degree of care was exercised in preparing the operation of 19 October 1999 in such a way as to avoid or minimise, to the greatest extent possible, the risk of a loss of life, both for the persons at whom the measures were directed and for civilians.
In contrast to Article 57(2) (Precautions in Attack) of Additional Protocol I (also considered as customary IHL during NIAC), the standard applied in this case is far more rigorous and exacting. Not only must , "to the greatest extent possible", the "loss of life" be avoided or minimized in respect to civilians but also in respect to combatants as well. In IHL the use of lethal force against a combatant is lawful- and no proportionality evaluation is applied in respect of the target itself. As Professor Lubell explains, "under human rights law and the rules of law enforcement, when a State agent is using force against an individual, the proportionality principle measures that force in an assessment that includes the effect on the individual himself, Leading to a need to use the smallest force necessary and restricting the use of lethal force." In contrast, under IHL, "if the individual is for instance a combatant who can be lawfully targeted, then the proportionality principle focuses on the effect upon surrounding people and objects, rather than upon the targeted individual, against whom it might be lawful to use lethal force as a first recourse." Also, the proportionality test applied by IHL is considered far more flexible, allowing Military leaders to balance the importance of a military objective against the possible incidental death of civilians. A violation becomes far more likely if the loss of civilian lives is excessive in relation to a particular military objective.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber
Official Website [English translation]
First Instance Verdict Upheld in the Predrag Bastah et al. Case
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 27, 2011
Following a public session held on February 22, 2011, the Appellate Division Panel of the Court of BiH, on February 22, 2011 rendered and on April 26, 2011 sent to the parties the Second Instance Verdict refusing as unfounded the Appeals filed by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the accused Predrag Bastah and the Defense Counsel for the accused Bastah and Goran Viskovic, upholding the First Instance Verdict of February 5, 2010.
On February 5, 2010, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina pronounced the First Instance Verdict finding the accused Predrag Bastah and Goran Viskovic guilty of the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity in violation of Article 172 (1) h) of the Criminal Code of BiH (the CC of BiH), as read with sub-paragraphs a), d), e), f), g), i) and k), in conjunction with Article 29, all as read with Article 180 (1) of the CC of BiH. The Court sentenced the accused Predrag Bastah to long-term imprisonment for a term of 22 years and the accused Goran Viskovic to prison sentence for a term of 18 years.
On the grounds of Article 284 (1) a) and c) of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH (the CPC of BiH), the Court acquitted the accused regarding part of the charges that Predrag Bastah and Goran Viskovic committed the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity in violation of Article 172 (1) h) as read with sub-paragraphs d), e), g), k) and i) of the CC of BiH, in conjunction with Article 29 of the CC of BiH, all as read with Article 180 (1) of the CC of BiH. On the grounds of Article 283 (1) b) the Court dismissed the part of the charges alleging that the accused committed the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity in violation of Article 172 (1) h) as read with sub-paragraphs a), i) and k) of the CPC, in conjunction with Article 29 of the CC of BiH, all as read with Article 180 (1) of the CC of BiH.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH filed an appeal from the First Instance Verdict on the grounds of erroneously and incompletely established state of facts as well as due to the decision on the criminal sanction, moving the Appellate Panel to uphold their Appeal as founded in its entirety, revoke the contested Verdict in its acquitting part and order a retrial for re-presentation of evidence based on which the state of facts was erroneously and incompletely established, and then to find the accused guilty of those acts of commission of the criminal offense which the Prosecution appealed, and to sentence them to long-term imprisonment for a lengthier time.
Defense Counsel for the accused and the accused Bastah himself, submitted their appeals and responses to the Prosecution appeal. In their responses to the Prosecution appeal, they moved the Court to refuse the Prosecution appeal as unfounded. The mentioned Verdict was appealed by the Defense Counsel for the accused Predrag Bastah and the Defense Counsel for the accused Goran Viskovic on the ground of essential violations of the criminal procedure provisions, erroneously and incompletely established state of facts and the decision on the criminal sanction, moving the Appellate Division Panel to uphold the appeals, revoke the contested Verdict in its convicting part or to modify the convicting part of the challenged Verdict so as to acquit the accused of charges. The Verdict was also appealed by the accused Bastah himself, noting that the Verdict was unlawful, unfounded in its entirety, that it lacked legal grounds and was rendered by a retroactive application of the 2003 CC of BiH in an unlawful manner and under strong political pressure and influences.
The Appellate Panel held a public session where the parties and the Defense Counsel briefly presented their appeals and responses, stating that they fully maintained their arguments raised on appeal. Having examined the contested Verdict within the the appellate arguments, the Appellate Division Panel rendered the Second Instance Verdict upholding the First Instance Verdict.
Pronouncement of the Verdict in the Darko Dolic Case
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 27, 2011
A pronouncement of the Verdict before Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in the Darko Dolic case has been scheduled for April 28, 2011, starting at 1.30p.m. in Courtroom 6. Darko Dolic is charged with the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians.
As alleged in the Indictment, during the armed conflict between the Army of RBiH and the Croat Defense Council (HVO) in the territory of the Prozor Municipality, as a member of the Jastrebovi sabotage-reconnaissance unit, the Accused Dolic took part in the torture of and intentional infliction of physical and mental pain on the detained Bosniak civilians. The Accused Dolic, also as alleged in the Indictment, took part in pillaging the civilians and forcing a person to sexual intercourse.
Darko Dolic Acquitted
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 29, 2011
The Trial Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of B-H pronounced the Verdict acquitting Darko Dolic of the charges that he perpetrated the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians under Article 173(1)(c)(e)(f) in conjunction with Article 29 and Article 180(1) of the Criminal Code of B-H (the CC of B-H) due to lack of evidence.
As reasons for the Acquittal, the Trial Panel stated the Prosecutor's Office of B-H failed to provide sufficient amount of evidence about the identity of the accused, that is, failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused Dolic is a person who committed the offenses mentioned in the Indictment of the Prosecutor's Office of B.H. At the same time the Court issued decision to revoke the imposed prohibiting measures and ordered that temporarily seized personal documents be returned.
The accused Dolic was acquitted of charges that during the armed conflict between the Army of RBiH and the Croat Defense Council (HVO) in the territory of the Prozor Municipality, as a member of the Jastrebovi sabotage-reconnaissance platoon, he took part in the torture of and intentional infliction of physical and mental pain on the detained Bosniak civilians. The Accused Dolic was also acquitted of charges that he took part in pillaging the civilians and forcing persons to sexual intercourse. Commencement of trial in the Veselin Vlahovic case.
Commencement of trial in the Veselin Vlahovic case
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 29, 2011
A commencement of trial before Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the Veselin Vlahovic case, has been scheduled for April 29, 2011, starting at 9.00 a.m. in Courtroom 4.
On February 24, 2011, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) confirmed the Indictment in the Veselin Vlahovic case, charging the accused Vlahovic with the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity.
The Indictment alleges, inter alia, that the accused Vlahovic, as a member of the paramilitary forces of the so called Serb Republic of BiH, later Republika Srpska, persecuted the civilian non-Serb population from Grbavica, Vraca and Kovacici settlements, Novo Sarajevo Municipality. As a part of the persecution on national, ethnic and religious grounds, the accused Vlahovic allegedly committed the crimes of deprivation of life (murder), slavery, rape, unlawful detention, physical and mental abuse (inhumane treatment), robbery and enforced disappearance of civilian non-Serb population.
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
Fall of Zepa Recalled
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
By Rachel Irwin
May 2, 2011
During the trial of ex-Bosnian Serb army general Zdravko Tolimir last week, the widow of a popular Bosnian army commander gave emotional testimony on the fall of the Zepa enclave and the subsequent disappearance of her husband in July 1995.
Prosecution witness Esma Palic is the widow of Avdo Palic, who commanded Bosnian government forces in Zepa during the war. Shortly after the fall of the enclave in July 1995, he was taken prisoner by Bosnian Serb forces and never heard from again, his wife told the court.
His remains were finally identified in August 2009, after being found in a mass grave.
"...What I had craved in life but did not achieve was due to the fact that someone else made decisions about my life," Palic said, as tears came to her eyes. "Since 1992, for the most part my life was reduced to what [Ratko] Mladic [the commander of the Bosnian Serb army] had decided, and all that machinery of the Serb forces, and the political circles who wanted to cleanse those areas of the Muslim population. My life was changed and lives of my children, too...I lived in agony for 14 years."
Palic said that before Zepa became a United Nations designated safe area in 1993, it was repeatedly shelled and the casualties were mainly civilians, including women, children and the elderly. After the nearby enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serb forces on July 11, 1995, her own house was shelled.
"A shell landed and ... the door to the living room opened from the detonation," Palic said. "I ran back to the shelter, and ... [my] baby was crying, and at that moment the baby started vomiting and I was really scared for her."
She said that around that time, the Bosnian Serb army would broadcast messages over a loudspeaker to the population of Zepa.
"That voice was calling out, 'This is Ratko Mladic talking to you' and then something like, 'You cannot stay in Zepa...Do not listen to crazy Avdo. You are his hostages, he will take you to death,'" Palic recalled.
"The people were extremely upset," she continued. "The atmosphere that prevailed in Zepa once Srebrenica had fallen can be described as a frenzy."
"You said part of the message was, 'You cannot stay in Zepa,'" prosecuting lawyer Rupert Elderkin said. "Did it surprise you?
"...We were very much aware that from the moment Srebrenica had fallen, we couldn't stand our ground there because in Srebrenica there were far more UN troops...when Srebrenica fell, that automatically meant that Zepa would fall," Palic said.
"It was clear to us all those years that the Serb authorities and Serb army couldn't tolerate a place inhabited by Muslims so deep into the territory they had cleansed. There were repeated messages that we couldn't survive on the border with Serbia."
Tolimir, who represents himself, was deputy commander for military intelligence and security in the Bosnian Serb army main staff during the war, reporting directly to Mladic. He is charged with eight counts, including genocide, extermination, murder, and the forced transfer and deportation of Bosniaks from the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves in July 1995. Some 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered at various execution sites in the days following the fall of Srebrenica.
Palic said that her husband had been in direct contact with Mladic in 1993, when the latter sent him a bottle of whiskey and a packet of cigarettes, with a "short message on the wrapping".
"Did your husband ever say why Mladic sent this gift to him? What was the message Mladic was trying to get across to him?" Elderkin asked.
"[My husband] told me that on several occasions he had been offered to leave Zepa because Mladic knew Avdo, and he knew that while Avdo was in Zepa he wouldn't be able to enter easily," Palic said. "Not only due to his military abilities, because I must point out that Avdo had this influence on the population in Zepa that made them feel safe, they trusted him."
She said her husband always refused to leave the enclave, even though he was offered "rewards" and the possibility of settling "wherever he wanted".
After her own house was shelled in July 1995, Palic said she went to seek shelter in another village with her two small daughters, one of whom was four months old at the time.
On July 24, Bosniak representatives from Zepa signed an agreement which provided for the "immediate cease fire, demilitarization, registration of the male population for a prisoner exchange, and transportation of the civilian population" from Zepa, the pretrial brief states.
The Bosniak representative who signed this agreement, Hamdija Torlak, came to where Palic was staying, she said.
"[Torlak] made a deep sigh and he said, 'I had to sign the surrender of Zepa,'" she recalled. "You could hear it in his voice, it was the voice of a traitor. Of course we all knew that anybody else who found themselves in same position would have had to do same thing."
After that, Palic said everyone went back to Zepa town, where they would board buses to Bosnian government-held territory. As people crowded into town, she said she saw her husband standing in front of a cafe.
"Avdo told me everything would be ok," she said. "He told me Tolimir was there, and he pointed at that man."
Her husband had made arrangements with Tolimir to accompany the convoy in an automobile in front of the buses, she said.
"I told him not to believe [Tolimir]," she said. "It's true that he looks civilized compared to the creatures around him, but I told him not to trust that man. My husband tried to be calm. I'm sure he himself was very well aware of everything. He knew he could not maintain Zepa, the UN was doing nothing, so he had no other choice."
After that, she boarded the bus with her children, and at a certain point in the journey her husband came on board and remained with them until they reached Bosnian government-held territory.
When they reached the road to free territory, she said she and her husband said goodbye, and he returned to Zepa.
"I kept begging him to take care of himself, telling him he mustn't trust Tolimir," Palic said with tears in her eyes. "...I told him he should have himself in mind and that he couldn't save anyone unless saved himself first. However, he clearly put it to me that he cannot allow for civilians to be hurt. He literally said, 'Esma, I'll do this job all the way to the end, no matter what happens to me.' That was the sort of person he was. He thought he was responsible for those people and he never even thought of placing himself before anyone else."
A little while later, the presiding judge asked her why her husband did not go with her into free territory when he had the chance.
"...If he had left Zepa, and all his troops behind... people who trusted him and their families, according to his moral criteria and mine, [that] would have been unbearable ..." she said. "Today my view is that one's honuor comes above all other things."
Palic said she received confirmation that her husband had arrived in Zepa safely, but on July 28 she heard on the radio that her husband, along with other members of the Zepa leadership, had been taken prisoner. He was never heard from him again, she said.
When it was Tolimir's turn to cross examine the witness, he referred to her earlier testimony.
"When you husband came on the bus did he tell you that I offered to [let him] go to [Bosnian government] territory with you, and it was because of that I allowed him to go to your bus?" Tolimir asked.
"He didn't mention your offer," Palic said. "Somewhere in my memory lingers that you were ready to let him go. He was hindrance to you in Zepa."
"Mr Tolimir, if you were indeed of such good intentions, why didn't you save my husband once he saved the people of Zepa?" she continued. "Instead, you offered him a dirty way out, a coward's way out. Would you have abandoned your people? I know many would."
At that point presiding judge Christoph Flugge interjected.
"I know this is a very emotional situation for you, but it is up to Mr Tolimir to put questions to you," he said. "There is no possibility of him answering your questions."
Tolimir also showed video footage of the negotiations between the Bosnian Serb leadership and Bosniak representatives in Zepa, during which Mladic mentions allowing "freedom of choice" for civilians.
"This was taped for Mladic's purposes," Palic said. "Why was Mladic not taped issuing orders to kill, butcher, and burn? This was recorded for his needs and you are relying on it now. As for freedom of choice, since 1992, we never had any freedom of choice ... You killed, you torched, people went missing. Now you're discussing freedom of choice as if we are idiots."
"Mladic never issued orders such as kill, burn, or slaughter," Tolimir responded. Tolimir then alleged that Avdo Palic had organised "sabotage groups" to attack Bosnian Serb-held territory, and the accused presented a document from June 1995 which he said was signed by the witness's husband.
"I am not familiar with all these details," Palic said. "I don't know what they did and how."
She said that one Bosnian Serb prisoner of war she knew of was treated humanely, and that her husband did not allow people to go on raids for food and other necessities in Serbian villages.
The trial continues this week.
ICTY Conducts Training Session of Bosnian Legal Professions
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
May 3, 2011
Today the Tribunal began a two-day training session with judges and prosecutors from the district courts and prosecutor's offices in Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Doboj and East Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of the War Crimes Justice Project (WCJP).
The goal of the training, which is taking place at the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centre in Banja Luka, is to share the Tribunal's institutional knowledge and specialised skills with jurisdictions in the region as a means of enhancing their capacity to handle complex war crimes cases.
The training is intended to strengthen the ability of the Tribunal's local counterparts to locate and research ICTY information and materials relevant to their work. The training session will cover the use of electronic search tools such as the website, the ICTY Court Records Database and the Appeals Chambers Case Law Research Tool. It will also cover making requests to the ICTY for legal assistance and for variation of protective measures under the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Commenting on the training session, Christopher Engels, the WCJP Regional Coordinator, said: "Those working on war crimes cases in the region face many challenges, from political pressure to a lack of support staff and funding. These challenges coupled with the complex nature of war crimes cases, make the work of these legal professionals extremely difficult."
Engels added that "in responding to our local counterparts' request for hands-on ICTY research training, our partners at the ICTY have addressed a real and urgent need. These trainings exemplify the practical ways in which we can support the hard work of the region's justice actors in their continued efforts to fairly and efficiently process war crimes cases."
This is the second training session of legal professionals to be held in Banja Luka this year. Similar training has also taken place in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Podgorica and Osijek since the launch of the project in July 2010. Further training sessions are scheduled to be held in the region in the coming months.
The War Crimes Justice Project is a 4-million euro regional project funded by the European Union and carried out by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) in partnership with the ICTY, the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and OSCE field operations.
Vojislav Seselj: UN Tribunal Dismisses Acquittal Bid
BBC News
May 4, 2011
Mr Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party, is charged with nine counts relating to the Croatian and Bosnian wars of the 1990s.
He has pleaded not guilty and filed a motion for acquittal and compensation.
While he does not deny making nationalist speeches, he says they did not constitute war crimes.
The BBC's Balkans correspondent Mark Lowen says that in the 18 years of proceedings at the tribunal, no defendant has ever been acquitted under the rule Mr Seselj has invoked.
Mr Seselj surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2003.
He is accused of forming a joint criminal enterprise with the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to "ethnically cleanse" large parts of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia's northern Vojvodina region.
The charges against him include murder, torture, sexual assault, forced transportation and destruction of property.
But earlier this year he filed a motion under the court's "Rule 98 bis", arguing that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient to support a conviction.
The rule allows a defendant to file for acquittal or dismissal of the case after the prosecution has presented its evidence.
Mr Seselj's Serbian Radical Party has been campaigning for him to be released in time for parliamentary elections next year.
Some feared that if he were released and returned to Serbian politics, he could once again have galvanised the far right at a time when the country's pro-Western government was trying to move closer to its goal of European Union membership, our correspondent says.
Croat Govt. Approach "Won't Help Reconciliation"
B92
May 4, 2011
Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Bramertz has stated that he is disappointed with the way Croatia is interpreting General Ante Gotovina's verdict.
He described it as a short-sighted approach that would not lead to reconciliation.
"A country is not defended by robbing and murdering civilians," he told Zagreb-based daily Jutarnji list daily ahead of his visit to the city.
According to Brammertz, the reactions coming from Croatia are surprising considering the trial lasted three years and the prosecution presented a great number of evidence about crimes that had been committed and happened without a doubt.
"I wish the Croatian authorities would analyze that verdict appropriately, so that potential simplification could be avoided," he stressed.
Brammertz again denied calling Croatian Army's 1995 Operation Storm a legitimate operation.
He says his comments were reported incorrectly, that he did not comment on the legality or legitimacy of the Operation Storm and that his office did not take a stand on the issue during the trial against Gotovina and other indictees.
"In the Hague Tribunal trials, it is not important to determine whether a side in a conflict had the right to use force, but whether war crimes were committed during the military operations, including the Storm," the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor explained.
"I clearly pointed out the difference at a conference, so it's symptomatic that it was misinterpreted in most of media comments after the verdict. The trial chamber was convinced that the crimes had been committed and that Generals Gotovina and Markac are responsible for those crimes. The trial chamber's verdict is clear enough," he stressed.
When asked to comment on conflicting statements about the legitimacy of the Operation Storm and about joint criminal enterprise, Brammertz said that "there is nothing inconsistent in a claim that the side which had a legitimate right to use armed force committed crimes during the combat".
The prosecutor states that his visit to Zagreb is part of his regular tour of the former Yugoslavia in preparation of his semiannual report to the UN Security Council in June.
He is going to visit Belgrade May 10-11 as part of those preparations.
Pointing out that he did not agree with assessments that it was Croatia's fault that Gotovina, Markac and Cermak ended up in The Hague because it failed to prosecute crimes committed during the Operation Storm and that the joint criminal enterprise could have been avoided if the perpetrators had been put on trial, Brammertz said that the Croatian judicial authorities were obliged to try those who played any role in crimes committed during the Operation Storm.
"This does not mean that top military and political officials responsible for those crimes should not be held accountable," the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor explained, adding that it would be important to hold them accountable if evidence showed they were involved in the crimes.
When asked about the content of the report, he said that there was a small number of open issues left between the Hague Tribunal and Croatia after the trial of the three Croat generals, but that he would refrain from comments until he finished his talks in Zagreb and sent his report to the UN.
Commenting on the commotion regarding the way the documents were submitted to the Hague Tribunal, he said that Croatia was fulfilling its international obligations.
When asked about the artillery logs, Brammertz said that the prosecution was doing everything to find them, but that the case against Gotovina and Markac was well-substantiated even without them.
"Nothing is indicating that these documents could help Gotovina," he pointed out.
Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia
Bosnian War-Crimes Suspect from Everett in Court
Herald Net
By Noah Haglund
April 28, 2011
A defense attorney used those words Wednesday to describe an Everett man facing extradition to his native Bosnia-Herzegovina on war-crimes charges.
Edin Dzeko, 39, has been in federal detention since his arrest April 13 by U.S. marshals acting on an extradition request. Getting out on bail is a long shot as he awaits an extradition hearing.
Dzeko's wife wiped away tears Wednesday as her husband sat in a federal courtroom for his second court appearance. She was one of about 30 relatives and friends there to support Dzeko. He gazed in their direction and offered a sad smile.
"Thanks a lot for coming. It means a lot for Edin," defense attorney David Gehrke told supporters after the hearing. "I've only known him for a short time. He's a wonderful man."
Wednesday's pre-extradition hearing was continued to June 8. An extradition hearing could be scheduled later. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marci Ellsworth raised no objection to giving Gehrke more time to prepare for the complicated legal process.
The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to try Dzeko for the 1993 killing of civilians and captured soldiers in the village of Trusina. The massacre was part of the ethnic violence that overtook the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Outside the courtroom, Gehrke described Dzeko as a man respected by fellow Bosnian immigrants in the Puget Sound area, for whom he hosted lamb feasts at his home in Everett's Pinehurst area.
Gehrke has said his client is innocent of the charges, though that's a matter to be decided in Bosnian courts, not in the U.S. Dzeko also has a Bosnian attorney. Gehrke said he might consider speeding up the extradition process so his client can return to Bosnia for trial and get on with his life.
Others have been tried in connection with the same village killings, the attorney added, with some convicted and others acquitted.
At the time of his arrest, Dzeko worked for a company that U.S. Navy contracts with for groundskeeping and janitorial services, said Kristin Ching, a local Navy public affairs officer.
His two teenage children live at the family's Everett home, Gehrke said. He's a soccer fan who holds season tickets for the Seattle Sounders FC. He shares the same name with Edin Dzeko, a player with the British Premier League soccer club Manchester City*, who Gehrke has been told is his client's distant cousin.
Dzeko immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 and became a naturalized citizen in 2006. Though not a Lutheran, he was sponsored by a Lutheran church, Gehrke said.
Court papers accuse Dzeko of war crimes in April 1993 when he was 21. The charges include helping lead an attack on the village of Trusina that ended in 16 deaths and serious injuries for four people, including two infants.
The events were part of the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina that killed at least 100,000 people. Conflicts during that time pitted Eastern Orthodox Christian Serbs, Roman Catholic Croats and predominantly Muslim Bosnians against one another.
Bosnian Muslims generally fared the worst of the major ethnic groups. The biggest act of genocide during the war occurred in 1995, when an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed by Serb forces and paramilitaries in the town of Srebrenica.
The conflict in Trusina, however, involved attacks by the predominantly Muslim Bosnia and Herzegovina army against Croat civilians and militia members. At other points in the war, Bosnian Muslims and Croats fought together against Serb forces.
The extradition request says Dzeko helped command the Zulfikar Special Purposes Detachment, which Bosnian prosecutors say targeted Croat civilians and soldiers from the Croatian Defense Council, an ethnic Croatian militia.
Prosecutors accuse Dzeko of forcing an injured man out of a house at gunpoint before another member of his unit shot and killed him. Dzeko also is accused of throwing another man into the yard of a house and shooting him dead. When the dead man's wife would not stop grieving, Dzeko allegedly shot her dead as well. The extradition request says Dzeko also was a member of an execution squad.
Gehrke acknowledges that Dzeko was a member of the Bosnian Army, but said he was at a hospital with a mortally wounded commander at the time of the killings. He contends that his client is not the same man identified in extradition paperwork.
On the same day of Dzeko's arrest in Everett, U.S. marshals in Oregon arrested a woman in connection with some of the same events.
Rasema Handanovic, also known as Zolja and Sammy Rasema Yetisen, is accused of shooting a civilian woman and an elderly couple to death. Additionally, the Beaverton, Ore., woman is accused of taking part in a firing-squad execution of unarmed soldiers and civilians.
Handanovic became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2002.
If convicted, both suspects face a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Extradition paperwork includes hundreds pages with harrowing eyewitness accounts.
"What happened in Trusina and what I did has been haunting me for 15 years now and has not allowed me to live a normal life," one witness told a Bosnian prosecutor. "Having said this I feel relived, no matter what will happen to me."
Serbia Requests Extradition of War Crimes Suspect
B92
April 29, 2011
Swiss Justice Ministry will investigate whether there are conditions for extradition of Shemsi Nuri, who is wanted by Serbia for crimes in Kosovo.
Nuri was arrested in Switzerland on April 14 on Serbian arrest warrant. The indictment accuses him of a series of brutal murders.
Swiss dailies write that the "issue is very sensitive due to political background".
According to Geneva-based daily Le Temps, famous Swiss layers Jacques Barillon, Ludovic Tirelli and Valerie Pasch Havel will defend the accused.
They have promised that they will object Serbia's request to extradite their client.
"I have accepted to defend him because my client pointed out that he did not know anything about these crimes. I never would have accepted it otherwise," Barillon said.
He also stressed that the Serbian authorities did not have the right to request his client's extradition, that he was concerned about political motives and that his client had an alibi.
Nuri was born in 1975 and has been living in Switzerland for ten years. He has both Serbian and Kosovo passport.
He is accused of "especially gruesome war crimes" against Serb and Albanian population in the town of Gnjilane in Kosovo.
The Geneva-based daily writes that the suspect is accused of being involved in killings, rapes and other forms of sexual abuse and extremely violent acts of torture.
According to numerous documents, he and his accomplices ripped two persons apart by tying them to cars which they drove in opposite directions. Nuri then cut the victims' bodies in pieces and threw them in a lake.
According to Le Temps, the accused has an alibi and he has submitted documents which show that he "was living and working in Macedonia at the time the crimes he has been accused of were committed, taking care of his sick brother who later died".
Albanians from Serbia and Kosovo have called on Switzerland not to extradite the suspect to Serbia because he would not have a "fair trial" there.
Ex-Croat War Crimes Suspect "Won't Sue Serbia"
B92
May 1, 2011
Tihomir Purda will not file a lawsuit against Serbia, says his wife Slobodanka Purda.
Instead, he will seek compensation from Bosnia-Herzegovina, she told B92.
"It's all up to lawyers now," said Slobod anka Purda, and added that her husband's words were "misinterpreted".
"As far as I know, he will did not say he would sue Serbia, instead his lawyer is working on damages in Bosnia," said she.
Purda spent nearly two months in detention in Bosnia earlier this year when he was arrested on a Serbian warrant accusing him of war crimes committed in Vukovar in the early 1990s.
But he was released when the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution dropped the case against him for lack of evidence.
Croatian President Says Mladic Should Be Tried In Bosnia
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
May 4, 2011
Croatian President Ivo Josipovic says that if accused Bosnian Serb wartime criminal Ratko Mladic is captured after the mandate of the international court overseeing Yugoslav war crimes expires, he should be tried in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"In principle, I would like to remember the practice after the Second World War, when the allies took the decision that all war criminals, outside of the international court in Nuremberg, will be prosecuted in the state where they committed crimes," he said. "This decision had a moral message, and I think it will be appropriate to prosecute Mladic in countries -- especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he did most of his crime."
Josipovic was speaking at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, a day after he met with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Mladic is accused of orchestrating the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys near the town of Srebrenica and of masterminding the siege of Sarajevo, which claimed some 10,000 lives, during the Bosnian War. Considered the Balkans' most-wanted man, he is believed to be hiding in Serbia among supporters.
The mandate of the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, or ICTY, is set to expire in 2014. ICTY officials have said that a procedure will be agreed for prosecuting Mladic should he be apprehended after that date.
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
Official Website of the Extraordinary Chambers
Official Website of the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials (UNAKRT)
Case 003 Deemed a "Charade"
Phnom Penh Post
By James O'Toole
May 2, 2011
The investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal have concluded investigations in the court's controversial third case, a move some observers say is a prelude to its long-planned dismissal.
In a document posted to the court's website on Friday, co-investigating judges You Bunleng and Siegfriend Blunk notified prosecutors that they "consider the investigation has been concluded" in Case 003. The judges added in a press release that the 003 case file contains "more than 2,000 pieces of evidence, comprising more than 48,000 pages".
According to the court's internal rules, prosecutors now have 15 days to review the case file and decide whether to request additional investigative steps. If they decline to make such requests, they then have three months to prepare a final submission to the judges regarding suspects and crime sites in the case.
Upon receiving the prosecutors' final submission, the investigating judges will then issue a "closing order" - dismissing the case or taking it to trial.
In introductory submissions for Cases 003 and 004 in 2009, prosecutors identified five potential suspects, the identities of whom remain confidential. Friday's notification relates only to Case 003.
"We have no public information about how many suspects are in Case 003, but obviously it's not five," United Nations court spokesman Lars Olsen said.
Former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met have been widely suggested as suspects in the court's third and fourth cases.
Olsen described Friday's notification as "a formal procedural step that the investigating judges are required by the rules to make ... when they deem that they have concluded the investigation of the facts set out in the introductory submission by the co-prosecutors".
The announcement comes amid speculation that the judges may ultimately be planning to dismiss Cases 003 and 004, which have run into opposition from Cambodian court officials and members of government.
During a visit by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to the Kingdom last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said these cases "will not be allowed", and that the court would conclude its operations after the upcoming trial in its second case.
In contrast to the conclusion-of-investigation notice the investigating judges issued last year in Case 002, Friday's notice invited only prosecutors to make further investigative requests, and did not mention civil party or defence lawyers.
Individual lawyers have not been assigned to the five unnamed suspects in Cases 003 and 004. The court's Defence Support Section has appointed Cambodian lawyer Kong Sam Onn to work on all the unnamed suspects' behalves, though he has not been given access to case files 003 and 004.
Olsen said the suspects would be entitled to lawyers "if they were to be questioned as a witness or if they were to be charged with crimes".
Clair Duffy, a trial monitor with the Open Society Justice Initiative, said the lack of defence counsel at this stage in the proceedings indicated that the suspects themselves had not even been questioned over the course of the investigation, and that a dismissal of the case had been planned from the start.
"How can you close an investigation into the commission of mass atrocities without actually questioning the people in these allegations themselves?" she said.
Prospective civil parties, meanwhile, have not been given any indication of the scope of investigation in Case 003, nor direction in filing complaints that could aid in the prosecution of the suspects.
"People need to come forward about the fact that this is a charade, because it calls into question the whole legitimacy of the institution," Duffy said.
Khmer Rouge See the Light
Phnom Penh Post
By Sun Narin
May 3, 2011
Last week, investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal announced that they had concluded investigations in the court's controversial third case.
Despite the gravity of the crimes the court is tasked with investigating, many observers believe judges have no intention of taking this case - which has run into opposition from Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials - to trial.
Battambang province's Samlot district was one of the last redoubts for the Khmer Rouge insurgency, and remains home for former KR navy commander Meas Muth and many other former cadres. The area would be an obvious starting point should the tribunal choose to make arrests in its final cases, but whatever the outcome of these investigations, many Samlot residents are more concerned with judgment of a different sort.
"I want God to forgive what I did during the regime," said former Khmer Rouge member Mann Man, 50.
"I want my soul to be open and laid to rest by God."
Mann Man is one of a small community of Christians in Samlot's Ta Sanh and Meanchey communes, areas largely populated by ex-Khmer Rouge. Around 300 converted Christians currently worship at the six churches in the two communes, among a population of roughly 10,000.
Sang Horn, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who now serves as pastor at Ta Sanh's O'Sngout village, said Christianity's theology of redemption had proven appealing to many ex-KR members seeking to leave behind their role in the Kingdom's Communist nightmare.
"If they confess their sins to God, God will polish their souls and they will have new life," he said. "If they really believe in and follow God, God will forgive them."
Sang Horn's colleague, San Timothy, served as pastor to the area's most famous convert, former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav. The infamous jailer, better known as Duch, became a born-again Christian and had been living for years under an assumed name in Samlot when he was arrested in 1999.
During Duch's trial at the Khmer Rouge tribunal in 2009, Cambodian-American Christopher Lapel appeared to testify after being summoned by the defence. Lapel was another former pastor of Duch's and was responsible for bringing Christianity to many other former cadres in the area, Sang Horn said.
Duch repeatedly said he accepted responsibility for his crimes and hoped to be forgiven. However, he ultimately chose to appeal his 30-year jail term and is currently seeking acquittal, claiming he was only a mid-level official following orders from above.
The penitence of other ex-Khmer Rouge members appears more genuine. Mann Man said she had been in charge of supervising people working in a rice field and hoped to be forgiven for the zeal with which she approached her work.
"I ordered them to do heavy labour quickly and without stopping. This was a bad deed," she said. "I feel pity for them and I should not have done that."
Sim Sun, 42, a former KR soldier, said he prayed to be forgiven for killing troops from the opposing Lon Nol and Vietnamese armies in battle.
"I want God to forgive me and guide me in both this life and the next," he said.
Groups Fear Khmer Rouge Tribunal May Halt Trials
Associated Press
By Mike Eckel
May 4, 2011
Legal and human rights groups say they fear Cambodia's U.N.- backed genocide tribunal will shut its doors prematurely without prosecuting former second-tier Khmer Rouge officials accused of atrocities.
Lawyers for the regime's aging former foreign minister, meanwhile, pressed Wednesday for his release from prison, saying he should be held under house arrest instead until his trial later this year.
Ieng Sary's lawyers argued that his three years of pretrial imprisonment was illegal. A ruling on the appeal is expected later.
In its first case, the tribunal sentenced Kaing Guek Eav to 35 years in prison last July for running the regime's notorious S-21 prison.
Its second case involves Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge chief ideologist Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.
They are charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and other offenses related to the Khmer Rouge's four-year rule in the 1970s, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern Wednesday that the tribunal will shut down its operations after the current case and abandon plans for trials of other former Khmer Rouge.
The proceedings follow French-style law, which mandates that investigating judges collect evidence that is then forwarded to prosecutors who decide whether to go to trial.
There are parallel sets of Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors working together.
Last week the co-investigating judges - You Bunleng of Cambodia and Siegfried Blunk of Germany - officially informed the court that their investigation for Case No. 3 was complete. The names of those being probed have been kept secret, but they are believed to include at least five second-tier Khmer Rouge officials.
Critics including Human Rights Watch say the co-investigating judges have done an incomplete investigation in an effort to scuttle future prosecutions.
"The investigating judges have acted precipitously to shut down the investigation, and I say that because we know from talking to people working in the court that they have not gone to crime scenes and done the kind of investigation that one would expect in any criminal case, much less a case of this seriousness," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"They've basically done a desk study and it appears that that desk study was a sham," Adams said in an interview in Bangkok. "It was a political decision, it appears, to shut down this case."
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an international legal watchdog group funded by billionaire George Soros, says the court may ultimately decide to strike a deal with the government, agreeing to end cases No. 3 and 4 in exchange for full cooperation from the government and witnesses in the current case.
"Victims of the Khmer Rouge will be cheated of the more comprehensive accountability farther trials would have produced. And every Cambodian will know that all the will the international community could muster was not sufficient to create a truly independent court," James Goldston, the initiative's executive director, wrote in a recent opinion piece.
Adams said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has long been the main opponent to broadening the tribunal's targets, claiming improbably it could spark a revival of civil war.
"He's covering up, it appears, for people in his party, because there are senior figures in his party who could be held accountable," said Adams, adding that it is not likely that they would be the ones prosecuted. Hun Sen once served with the Khmer Rouge but defected from the group at a relatively early stage.
"There's nervousness in his party and he has publicly said over and over again that he would rather have the court fail than for it to go ahead with these cases," said Adams. "So there has been extreme political pressure. "
He said pressure has also come from the nations funding the tribunal, who would like to wrap things up quickly without having to raise new money beyond the costs so far, which have well exceeded $100 million.
Because of the inadequate investigations, "I think it's very dubious whether these cases will go forward and if they do go forward, that they will result in convictions," Adams said.
Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said it was speculative to say that the investigating judges plan to dismiss the remaining cases. He said it was wrong to draw exact parallels between the first two cases - which involved extensive research and investigations - and the two pending ones, saying each case has its own set of circumstances.
He also noted that under the deal reached between the United Nations and the Cambodian government, the court has been limited in its scope from the day it was founded.
"What's important is that there is a legal process that has been done; that impunity for the most responsible and the most senior leaders has ended," he said.
K. Rouge Court Asked to Release Ailing Defendant
Bangkok Post
May 4, 2011
Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary urged Cambodia's UN backed court Wednesday to free the elderly war crimes suspect ahead of his genocide trial.
The 85-year-old's defence team argued that his continued detention was illegal because their client's case had not been heard within four months of the issue of the indictment in September, surpassing a court "deadline".
One of the few public faces of the secretive regime, Ieng Sary faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and execution in 1975-1979.
He has been hospitalised several times for a heart condition and blood in his urine since his arrest in 2007.
His lawyers called for his "immediate release", or that he be confined to his home in Phnom Penh. He is currently being held at a purpose-built detention facility near the court.
"House arrest will ensure his presence for the trial, will ensure that he doesn't flee the country, and would also ensure that no harm comes to him or to others," argued defence lawyer Michael Karnavas.
But the prosecution said house arrest would be inappropriate, citing Ieng Sary's purported wealth and travel experience and the gravity of his alleged crimes.
"He does pose a flight risk," said assistant prosecutor Dale Lysak.
The other defendants in what is the Khmer Rouge tribunal's second case are his wife Ieng Thirith, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan.
The trial, due to start in the middle of this year, is expected to be long and complex with all four former leaders disputing the charges against them.
In its landmark first case the tribunal in July sentenced former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav to 30 years in prison. The case is now under appeal.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Marxist Khmer Rouge regime emptied cities in the late 1970s in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.2
All the accused in the second case are aged between 79 and 85 and suffer from varying ailments, fuelling fears that not all of them will live to see a verdict.
Grotian Moment: The International War Crimes Trial Blog
Iraq to Disband Court that Tried Saddam Hussein
Associated Press
By Sinan Salaheddin
May 3, 2011
The Iraqi government said Wednesday it will disband the tribunal that condemned Saddam Hussein and other top regime officials to death and was heavily criticized by human rights groups.
The announcement could help alleviate tension between the Shiite-led government and Iraq's Sunni community, which has long felt unfairly targeted by the Iraqi High Criminal Tribunal and has demanded its closure in the interests of national reconciliation.
The statement only said that the Cabinet approved a draft law to disband the court and that it has been sent to parliament, without giving any further details.
The court spokesman, Raid Juhi, told The Associated Press that the decision was made because the court had finished its cases. The proposed law sets June 30 as a deadline to settle a few final minor cases, he added.
A number of international human rights organizations and Iraqi Sunni politicians have been questioning whether the proceedings of the tribunal, which tried and sentenced dozens of former officials, complied with international standards for fairness.
The first among the cases it handled was against Saddam who was hanged in late 2006 for his role in the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims following an 1982 attempt on his life.
It also tried and sent to the gallows Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid who gained his nickname "Chemical Ali" for ordering the use of mustard gas and nerve agents against the Kurds in response to their collaboration with the Iranians during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.
Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and former head of Iraq's revolutionary court Awad Hamid al-Bandar were also all sentenced to death and executed.
The court also tried and convicted 74-year-old Tariq Aziz, the only Christian in Saddam's inner circle, for his role in the crackdown on the Shiite political parties now dominating Iraq's politics. Aziz faces a death sentence for his conviction in that case but it has yet to be implemented.
Two other Saddam-era officials have also been convicted and sentenced to death. But the cases of Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, the former defense minister who led the Iraqi delegation at the cease-fire talks that ended the 1991 Gulf War, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces, have angered Iraq's Sunni population who believe the sentences are too harsh.
Also Wednesday, Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi announced the arrest of three al-Qaida in Iraq operatives involved in assassinations in the capital.
At a press conference, al-Moussawi played video of the three men confessing to the slaying of a local journalist from a Shiite TV station last month with pistols fitted with silencers.
The three will be sent to court to stand trial, he said.
Violence has dropped significantly in Iraq since 2008, but attacks still occur, particularly in Baghdad, where al-Qaida militants appear determined to show they are not a spent force. In recent weeks, there has also been an uptick in targeted assassinations carried out mostly against government and military figures.
Maliki Appoints New Head for Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal
Alsumaria
April 22, 2011
A Senior Official in Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal said on Thursday that Prime Minister decided to appoint Mohssen Rissan as a head of the Tribunal instead of its former President Nazem Ferman Al Abboudi which was sacked by Maliki.
"Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki decided to substitute the head of Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal Nazem Ferman Al Abboudi with Judge Mohsen Al Raysan who works in the same tribunal and that after a meeting between Maliki and the Court's members," the same source told Alsumarianews.
"There are many problems between the head of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal and a number of employees for sundry reasons," the source who claimed anonymity said. "The tension started to escalate lately", it added.
On Thursday a source in Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal revealed that Maliki ordered to sack the head of the tribunal and to investigate with him after buying 50 Land Cruiser with doubled prices.
In Transparency International 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, which encompassed 178 countries, Iraq came 175. It is to be noted that Iraq situation ameliorated if compared with the Organization's report for the past years as Iraq gathered more points and as much as the country points increased it is considered to have more integrity.
Since February 25 demonstrations organized by University students are taking place all over Iraq calling for change and halting corruption. The young men are organizing these demonstrations thru social network. However, security forces imposed a curfew to try to prevent demonstrators from reaching the crowds. Security forces opened fire killing and wounding many people.
Official Website of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
In Focus: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (UN)
Report: Indictment to Be Issued in May
Naharnet
May 3, 2011
The indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case could be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon this month, political sources told An Nahar daily. The sources said in remarks published Tuesday that the issue could further complicate the government formation process.
In March, STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare filed an amended indictment based on further evidence in the probe into the 2005 killing of Hariri.
The indictment, which is being kept confidential, is under examination by Belgian judge Daniel Fransen who has the responsibility of confirming it before arrest warrants or summonses are issued.
The first indictment, filed by Bellemare in January, is widely believed to name Hizbullah members.
Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal
Bangladesh Tribunal: Is Name-Calling Contempt of Court?
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
By Richard Walker
April 29, 2011
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has been widely criticised for not meeting international legal standards. It has now opened itself up to accusations of bullying the media.
The ICT finally got underway last year, nearly 40 years after Bangladesh's bloody cessation from Pakistan in which up to a million people were killed.
The Tribunal is supposed to bring to justice the Bangladeshis responsible for the violence meted out to anyone supporting the independence movement. But the list of criticisms against the court is growing steadily.
Criticised
Over the past 12 months the ICT has been criticised for failing to meet international legal standards. Suspects have been held for long periods without charge, and questions have been raised about the system of interrogation.
'Rights exported'
International legal expert and barrister Stephen Kay says: "They've imported international crimes into the Bangladesh national legal system and at the same time anyone charged, suspected, questioned or detained has had their rights exported out. And you can't challenge that. So they've created a very strange court that reduces the rights of the people involved with it."
There have also been accusations that the current cases are politically motivated and that political scores are being settled in the courtroom.
But the court has now wandered into new legitimacy problems.
'No backbone'
A journalist based in Dhaka described the Tribunal in print last week as having 'no backbone' and of being a 'rubber-stamp'. He was promptly summoned to appear before the court where Judge A.K.M. Zahir Ahmed said: "The tribunal has been termed as a rubberstamp and other defamatory words were also used, which is tantamount to contempt of court. If you go on writing this kind of report you will have to face contempt charges in future."
What is 'contempt of court'?
The freedom of expression lobby group Article 19 describes contempt of court as "when there is interference with or disruption of criminal or civil court proceedings".
Examples include yelling in the court room, publishing matters which may prejudice the right to a fair trial, or criticisms of courts or judges which may undermine public confidence in the judicial system ("scandalizing the court").
Notably though, the eminent British judge Lord Diplock has made the point that "It is justice itself that is flouted by contempt of court, not the individual court or judge who is attempting to administer it."
Empty threats?
Determining whether the threat made against the journalist in Dhaka last week was serious or not will likely be a process accelerated by the increase in foreign media and international interest in the ICT. Will ICT judges threaten critical foreign journalists? It seems the tension between the court's judges and its critics is set inevitably to increase.
Dhaka Has a Chance to Set Example
Bangladesh News 24
May 4, 2011
The USA wants to see the process of war crimes trial in Bangladesh as a "model" for other countries, US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues has said.
Stephen J Rapp on Tuesday appreciated Bangladesh's arrangements so far for conducting trial into 'crimes against humanity'.
"The country has responded positively to proposals I made through a letter to foreign and law ministers on March 21 after my first visit to Dhaka in January this year," he said.
The 10-page letter contained a list of 'suggestions' on how the International Crimes Tribunal's Rules of Procedure could be amended to ensure that 'its proceedings are independent, fair, and uphold international standards'.
"Bangladesh could set an example of delivering justice to war crimes," Rapp told a press conference at American Recreation Association in the capital.
"We want to see here that the process can be model for other countries, in the field of international justice."
A leading international war crimes expert Rapp said if a national court could do justice for such kind of crimes, then it's better 'not to go to international court thousands of miles away from the region.'
He, however, cautioned that the process should not be related to political calendar as it would take much time to complete (war crimes trail).
"It will take several months from gathering evidences to make formal charges and then judges' decision. Each step will take time.
"None should be taken in good faith while trying," he said while replying a question whether the trail would be interfered by the next general election scheduled to be held in 2014.
"This is a domestic process where the Bangladeshi judges and prosecutors are working while the accused and victims are also Bangladeshis.
"The process needs to be independent and impartial."
The senior US official said his country could extend supports to the process of providing training to the people involved in delivering the justice to ensure its "international standard".
The US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues arrived in Dhaka on Sunday for a round of meetings with senior Bangladeshi officials, politicians, civil society groups and the media.
Lawyers for USS Cole Bomb Suspect File Court Case
The Associated Press
May 9, 2011
Lawyers for the suspected al-Qaida mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole said Tuesday they have filed a case against Poland at Europe's court of human rights over alleged abuse against him at a CIA-run site in that country about eight years ago.
The Open Society Justice Initiative, a New York-based human rights group, and lawyers for Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri are challenging Poland for "active complicity" in the extraordinary rendition program carried out under then-President George W. Bush.
The case filed with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, seeks in part to press Poland to help block an "imminent risk" that al-Nashiri could face the death penalty.
The 46-year-old Saudi national was held at a secret CIA site in Poland between December 2002 and June 2003, and is now being held at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
U.S. military prosecutors re-filed terrorism and murder charges last month and requested the death penalty against al-Nashiri over the alleged planning and preparation for the attack that killed 17 sailors and injured 41.
The filing alleges that Poland's government violated the European Convention of Human Rights by enabling al-Nashiri's to face torture and helping his transfer, despite risks he faced in U.S. custody: further abuse, "a flagrantly unfair trial" and the death penalty, the group said.
The human rights group said that since 2008 the Polish prosecutor has been investigating the CIA-run "black sites" like a military intelligence base in northeastern Stare Kiejkuty, where al-Nashiri was allegedly held, without any sign about when that investigation will end.
In Warsaw, Polish state prosecutor Robert Majewski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was not aware of the suit but that it will have no effect on the investigation that he is leading into whether Poland hosted a CIA secret prison.
The group says U.S. documents have shown that while in Poland U.S. interrogators subjected al-Nashiri to abuse, including mock executions with a power drill while he stood naked and hooded, and threats "to bring in his mother and sexually abuse her in front of him."
Polish prosecutors in March said they wanted the United States to question al-Nashiri and another prisoner at Guantanamo Bay - alleged al-Qaida facilitator Abu Zubaydah - in part to confirm whether the two were actually held in Poland.
In October, the U.S. Justice Department refused to assist Poland in its investigation, citing state interests.
The rights group's lawyers say that Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald, who is responsible for convening the U.S. military commissions, has told al-Nashiri's military lawyers he has until June 30 to make written submissions against the death penalty.
The filing comes in the wake of the highly publicized death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during a U.S. military raid in Pakistan on May 1, and a subsequent debate about how much information gleaned from interrogation of al-Qaida suspects in custody may have helped U.S. officials to locate him.
Al-Nashiri once bragged that he outranked suspected Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the No. 3 man in al-Qaida. The U.S. case against him is the first to move forward since President Barack Obama ordered military trials to resume at Guantanamo Bay.
The "extraordinary rendition" program involved the beyond-the-law transfer of U.S. terror suspects from country to country by the CIA - a policy that human rights advocates say renditions were the agency's way to outsource torture of prisoners to countries where it is permitted practice.
In a 2007 probe conducted on behalf of the Council of Europe, Swiss politician Dick Marty accused 14 European governments of permitting the CIA to run detention centers or carry out rendition flights between 2002 and 2005.
The case would also be only the second pending over the policy of extraordinary rendition at the European court. Court officials say the only other case involves Khaled el-Masri, a German who was snatched by security forces off a bus in Macedonia in 2003, then carried to a secret prison in Afghanistan. The case against him later revealed he was the wrong person.
Two U.S. Terrorism Cases Have Ties to Pakistan
National Public Radio
By Dina Temple-Raston
May 16, 2011
Two terrorism cases now winding their way through the federal court system have links to Pakistan: One involves a Chicago businessman who stands accused of helping plot the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, India. The other case is in Miami, where two local imams and several family members were charged with allegedly providing money and support to the Pakistani Taliban. Both cases come at a time when the U.S. relationship with Pakistan is under intense scrutiny.
Jury selection began Monday in Chicago for the case of Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian businessman. Prosecutors say Rana, 50, allowed a friend of his, David Coleman Headley, to use his immigration business as a cover so Headley could travel to India and scout targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
That part of the case isn't in dispute. Headley has already pleaded guilty to the terrorism charges. Some of the places he identified during his trips to India were subsequently targeted by the 10 armed gunmen who had Mumbai under siege for three days at the end of 2008. More than 160 people died in those terrorist attacks, including six Americans. The American deaths are what give the U.S. jurisdiction in the case.
"It's a big deal in the sense that it is a part of the evolving revelations of something that we already knew: that at some level, Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, was involved in Mumbai," said Christine Fair, a professor and terrorism expert at Georgetown University. "It was a big deal before Osama bin Laden was killed, but it is an even bigger deal now because in part there is so much frustration across the U.S. government with Pakistan. This is another opportunity to focus on alleged Pakistani perfidy."
Headley is a big reason the case is getting so much attention. To avoid the death penalty, he has agreed to testify against Rana. In pretrial releases it is clear he's going to say that the Pakistani spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, played a huge role in the Mumbai attacks. India has been saying as much for some time. This case threatens to provide more evidence of that. Headley has already said publicly that he had an ISI handler and spent the agency's money to help terrorists plot the Mumbai attacks. When he testifies in open court, he's expected to name names and dates and details of phone calls.
When prosecutors were putting together the case over the past year, those revelations appeared embarrassing for Pakistan, but not incendiary. Now, coming just weeks after Pakistan has had to explain how it didn't know bin Laden was hiding on its soil for five years, this case has taken on outsized proportions.
Officials say now that everyone is watching this case so carefully, it could have far broader implications. There is definitely some concern among U.S. officials that this could end up being a public airing of what looks like Pakistan's tendency to turn a blind eye to terrorism.
Miami Arrests
Pakistan loomed large in another case that came to light this weekend. The FBI arrested two imams in South Florida and charged them and four others with funneling money to the Pakistani Taliban, the terrorist group that, among other things, took responsibility for the failed car bombing in Times Square in May 2010.
One of the men in the docket is Hafiz Khan, 76, the imam at one of the oldest mosques in Miami. One of his sons, Izhar Khan, 24, an imam at a nearby mosque in Margate, Fla., was also arrested. Another son, Irfan, was arrested as well. Hafiz Khan's daughter, grandson and another man - all living in Pakistan - were also charged in the plot. The Khans are U.S. citizens, and officials were quick to say that their mosques were not suspected of wrongdoing. They appeared in federal court on Monday.
Prosecutors say the FBI has been investigating the Khans for three years. The bureau said it tracked money transfers and wiretapped conversations that led it to believe the Khans were funneling money to the terrorist group. There isn't a great deal of money involved. Since 2008, they allegedly sent about $50,000 to Pakistan, funds U.S. authorities say went to help the terrorist group buy guns and fund training. The Khans are expected to answer the charges next Monday, when they are scheduled to appear in court again. If convicted, they face 15 years in prison for each of the four counts listed in the indictment.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said suspicious activity reports from local banks triggered the investigation three years ago.
"This is based on the defendants' words, actions and records," Ferrer said at a news conference after the arrests on Saturday.
The Muslim community in South Florida has reacted with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
The FBI had been bracing for a huge backlash given that two imams in the community were arrested. Because of that concern, it went about these arrests particularly carefully. The bureau waited until after morning prayers on Saturday to arrest the men. Apparently the agents took off their shoes before entering the mosque, and didn't swarm the Muslims who were gathered there for prayer. Agents sat down with Muslim leaders in the community before the arrests went public and talked to them a little bit about the case.
Partly as a result, the reaction from the community has been measured. Community leaders said they would wait to see what evidence comes out in court.
US Department of Justice Plans to Prosecute Hezbollah Commander Captured in Iraq
The Long War Journal
By Bill Roggio
May 16, 2011
The US Department of Justice is planning to prosecute Ali Mussa Daqduq, a dangerous Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian Qods Force agent who is responsible for organizing the Shia terror groups in Iraq and the kidnapping and murder of US soldiers.
The proposed prosecution was disclosed in a letter written by five US senators to US Attorney General Eric Holder, asking the Justice Department to clarify the status of Daqduq and inquiring why Daqduq will not be transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The letter, which was signed by US Senators Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn, was sent to the Department of Justice this evening. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Long War Journal [see Threat Matrix report, Text of letter to the Department of Justice on Ali Mussa Daqduq].
"We are deeply concerned that the Administration and the Department of Justice are moving forward with plans to prosecute Ali Mussa Daqduq in federal court for clear violations of the laws of war that occurred in Iraq," the senators said.
The senators believe that Daqduq should be prosecuted by a military commission and not in a federal court as "his actions clearly defy the laws of war." The senators are also concerned that Daqduq would eventually be freed if transferred to the Iraqi government.
"Moreover, we are concerned that if Daqduq is left in the custody of the Iraqi government, AAH [the Asaib al Haq or League of the Righteous] will successfully negotiate his release," the letter continued. "There is little doubt that Daqduq will return to the battlefield and resume his terrorist activities against the United States and our interests."
Daqduq is perhaps the most dangerous of the Shia terror commanders captured by US forces in Iraq since 2003. Daqduq has a pedigree with Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran's proxy militia and terror group that is based in Lebanon. At the time of his capture in March 2007, he was a 24-year veteran of Hezbollah. He has commanded both a Hezbollah special operations unit and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's security detail.
In 2005, Hezbollah's leadership directed Daqduq to travel to Iran and partner with Qods Force, Iran's elite special operations group tasked with spreading the Iranian theocracy to neighboring countries, to train Iraqi Shia terror groups, the US military said in a briefing in July 2007 after Daqduq's capture. The US seized documents that outlined Daqduq's role in supporting the Shia terror groups, which are collectively called the Special Groups by the US military. The Special Groups include the Mahdi Army, the League of the Righteous (Asaib al Haq, a Mahdi Army faction), and the Hezbollah Brigades.
In May 2006, Daqduq traveled with Yussef Hashim, the chief of Lebanese Hezbollah's operations in Iraq, to Tehran to meet with the commander and the deputy commander of the Iranian Qods Force Special External Operations branch. Daqduq made four trips into Iraq in 2006, where he personally observed Special Groups operations.
Upon his return to Iran, Daqduq was tasked to organize the Special Groups "in ways that mirrored how Hezbollah was organized in Lebanon," Brigadier General Keven Bergner said in the July 2007 briefing. Daqduq began to train Iraqis inside Iran to carry out terror attacks in their home country. Groups of 20 to 60 recruits were trained in the use of Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs), mortars, rockets, and sniper rifles, and instructed on how to conduct intelligence and kidnapping operations.
"These Special Groups are militia extremists, funded, trained and armed by external sources, specifically by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force operatives," said Bergner. "In addition to training, the Qods force also supplies the Special Groups with weapons and funding of 750,000 to three million U.S. dollars a month. Without this support, these Special Groups would be hard pressed to conduct their operations in Iraq."
Daqduq was captured in March 2007 along with two brothers, Qais and Laith Qazali. Qais was the leader of the League of the Righteous, which is considered the most dangerous of the Shia terror groups, while Laith was a commander in the group. Qais was responsible for the January 2007 attack on the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center. Five US soldiers were captured during the operation and were executed by Qazali's men as Iraqi police and troops closed in on the snatch team.
Despite the roles played by Qais and his brother Laith in killing US troops and working with Iran's Qods Force, the US military released the two brothers and hundreds of their followers to the Iraqi government between July and December of 2009. The Shia terrorists were freed in exchange for a British hostage and the bodies of four other Brits who had been executed by the League of the Righteous while in custody.
The US military officially denied that the release of Qais and Laith was part of a hostage exchange, and instead insisted it was part of "reconciliation." But US military and intelligence official contacted by The Long War Journal privately said that the brothers had indeed been freed as part of a hostage exchange.
The League of the Righteous returned to terror activities shortly after the hostage exchange. In January of 2010, less than a month after Qais was finally freed, the terror group kidnapped Issa T. Salomi, a US civilian contractor, in Baghdad.
Somali Pirate Pleads Guilty to Yacht Hijacking
Agence France-Presse
May 20, 2011
A Somali man pleaded guilty Friday to charges of piracy and hostage taking of a yacht off the coast of Oman in February in a hijacking that left four Americans dead.
Under a plea deal in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali could now see his sentence reduced, as the charges carry the potential for a death penalty. Though he now faces life behind bars, he could see a reduction in that sentence for admitting his role in the killings.
"He avoids death with the plea," his lawyer Jon Babineau told AFP.The owners of the yacht Quest, Jean and Scott Adam, were Christian missionaries based in California who were sailing around the world at the time of the hijacking.
They were shot to death, along with their companions Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay from Seattle, Washington, several days after being taken hostage and as negotiations were taking place with US Navy officials.
US service members, who had been trailing the yacht during the hostage drama, boarded the vessel after hearing gunshots and discovered the Americans' bodies, according to US officials.
Two other suspects in the case were also expected to plead guilty later Friday, while eight others are due to do so on Monday.
Accused Somali pirate Mohammad Saaili Shibin, said to have been the chief negotiator in the hijacking, was indicted on charges related to the killings earlier this year.
The US military said it had undertaken negotiations, led by Shibin, to secure the release of the hostages at the time the pirates fatally shot their captives.
At the time of their arrest, the pirates were said to have been in possession of heavy weaponry, including a grenade launcher and several assault rifles.
The men are among 15 people -- 14 from Somalia and one from Yemen -- arrested after the attack for their roles in the kidnapping and killings.
Obama Says Syria’s Assad Must Reform Or Go
Reuters
By Nazih Siddiqi
May 19, 2011
Syria deployed tanks in a border village on Thursday, witnesses said, ignoring growing pressure from Washington which called on President Bashar al-Assad to stop trying to crush popular unrest or step aside.
"The Syrian regime has chosen the path of murder and mass arrest," Obama said in a condemnation of Assad's military campaign to suppress a two-month wave of protests demanding greater freedom.
Rights groups say more than 700 civilians have been killed in the repression, which continued on Wednesday as troops backed by tanks deployed in a Syrian border village, clearly visible from adjacent Lebanon.
"The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy," President Barack Obama said in a speech on U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa.
"President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition or get out of the way."
Obama called on Assad to stop shooting protesters, allow peaceful protests, release political prisoners and start a "serious dialogue to advance to a democratic transition."
Syrian security forces have used tanks, gunfire and mass arrests to crack down on flashpoints in an attempt to stamp out a revolt against four decades of authoritarian rule by the Assad family. Bashar himself has ruled for 11 years.
On Thursday Syrian soldiers could be seen deploying along a stream in Arida, a Syrian village next to Lebanon's northern border, and entering homes. Lebanese soldiers fanned out on their side of the frontier.
Earlier, sporadic gunfire and shelling were heard from the village. Arida is near the mostly Sunni Muslim town of Tel Kelakh, where one rights activist says Syrian troops have killed at least 27 civilians since entering on Saturday.
A resident said that armoured personnel carriers and dozens of buses filled with soldiers had begun pulling out of Tel Kelakh around noon on Thursday and were heading north.
"The army is largely gone. There are no security police on the streets, but they are still in and around their headquarters away from the centre of Tel Kelakh and they are still occupying the main hospital," the witness said.
CONDEMNATION
Western powers, fearing instability across the Middle East if Syria undergoes a dramatic upheaval, at first made only muted criticisms of Assad's actions, but then stepped up their condemnation and imposed sanctions on leading Syrian figures.
Washington's decision to target Assad personally raises the question of whether the West will seek his overthrow, raising the stakes in the conflict.
Damascus condemned the sanctions, saying they targeted the Syrian people and served Israel's interests. "The sanctions have not and will not affect Syria's independent will," an official source was quoted as saying on state television.
"Any act of aggression against Syria is an American contribution to Israeli aggression against Syria and Arabs."
Leading Syrian opposition figure Haitham al-Maleh said the sanctions meant "members of the regime are now under siege."
The U.S. Treasury Department said it would freeze any assets owned by Syrian officials that fell within U.S. jurisdiction, and bar U.S. individuals and companies from dealing with them.
The sanctions also applied to Syria's vice president, prime minister, interior and defence ministers, the head of military intelligence and director of the political security branch, but it was unclear which assets, if any, would be blocked.
An EU diplomat said the European Union was also likely to extend its sanctions on Syria next week to include Assad.
"ASSAD MUST BE HELD RESPONSIBLE"
The unrest in Syria began in March when protesters, inspired by uprisings in other parts of the Arab world, took to the streets calling for democracy and an end to corruption.
Assad made token gestures towards reforms, including lifting a decades-old emergency law. But the crackdown by troops, security forces and irregular Assad loyalists intensified.
In a possible indication of the crackdown's ferocity, villagers near the southern city of Deraa said earlier this week they had found separate graves containing up to 26 bodies, allegations denied by Syrian authorities.
Ammar Qurabi of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said Assad had met two relatives of people reported to have been buried in the graves.
Many activists and protesters now say it is too late for reforms and are calling for Assad's overthrow. But the 45-year old president has shown no sign of allowing Western pressure to deter him from suppressing popular dissent.
Syrian authorities blame most of the violence on armed groups backed by Islamists and outside powers who they say have killed more than 120 soldiers and police.
Switzerland said it would impose travel bans on 13 top Syrian officials –– but not Assad –– and freeze any of their assets held in Swiss banks, matching a decision by the EU.
Amnesty International welcomed Washington's move and called on Obama to impose an arms embargo.
"President al-Assad and those around him must be held individually criminally responsible before the ICC (International Criminal Court) or national courts of states exercising universal jurisdiction," said Amnesty's T. Kumar.
Syria has excluded most international journalists, making it hard to verify reports from activists and officials.
Sierra Leone ‘Anxiously’ Awaits Taylor Verdict: Official
The Agence France-Presse
May 15, 2011
Sierra Leone was "anxiously" awaiting the verdict in the war crimes trial of Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor, a top official said Saturday, as prosecutors from six international criminal tribunals gathered in the capital Freetown.
"The proceeding of Taylor's trial... is being followed closely and we still continue to wait anxiously for the verdict," Vice President Sam Sumana said of the trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Netherlands that wrapped up in March. A judgement is expected this summer.
Sumana made his comments at the opening of a two-day meeting of prosecutors from the world's six UN-backed international criminal tribunals.
He added that "the prosecutors' meeting will showcase that international criminal tribunals are not only to deliver justice but a respect for the rule of law."
The vice president stressed that "international criminal justice has enabled Sierra Leone to enjoy peace and stability."
Taylor, the first African head of state to face an international tribunal, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity on claims that he armed Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in exchange for illegally mined so-called "blood diamonds."
The Sierra Leone civil war claimed some 120,000 lives in the 10 years to 2001, with RUF rebels, described by the prosecution as Taylor's "surrogate army", mutilating thousands of civilians by hacking off their limbs.
The president of the Amputee Association, Jusu Jakkah, who attended the opening ceremony, told AFP that the event was "a good initiative for the various prosecutors to get together under one roof to share ideas and give motivation to the many victims of atrocities around the world."
In the case of Taylor, he said, "We want to see justice prevail as we are victims (of the) 10-year-long war" in Sierra Leone.
The prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Brenda Hollis, who chaired the meeting, said the court was nearing its lifespan and discussions would begin for its replacement.
"We shall discuss closure and legacy issues and hold sessions with civil societies as to the way forward," she said.
She also said that the "prosecutors at the meeting will share the experiences of their offices as many of the issues are much the same regardless of the state (where) the crimes were committed."
It is the second time the prosecutors' meeting is being held in Sierra Leone, following one in 2005, according to records provided by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Besides that court, the other five tribunals in attendance are the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Court of Cambodia, Special International Tribunal of Lebanon, and the International Criminal Court.
Rwanda: UN Genocide Tribunal Sentences Former Army Chief to 30 Years' Jail
The UN News Centre
May 17, 2011
The United Nations tribunal set up after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda today convicted the country’s former army chief of committing numerous war crimes and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Augustin Bizimungu, who served as chief of staff of the Rwandan armed forces, was found guilty of six counts of genocide, crimes against humanity for murder, extermination and rape and violations of articles of the Geneva Conventions.
But the three-judge panel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) acquitted him on a count of conspiracy to commit genocide and dismissed a charge of complicity to commit genocide.
Prosecutors told the tribunal that Mr. Bizimungu had been instrumental in the organization of the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slain — often by machete — in less than 100 days starting in April 1994.
He reportedly gave an order to "exterminate the small cockroaches" on the first day of the genocide.
Defence lawyers had argued that he had little control over his subordinates who carried out killings.
Three other senior military officers were found guilty today of similar war crimes charges in the same trial as that of Mr. Bizimungu.
François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, who served as commander of the Reconnaissance battalion in the Rwandan army, and Innocent Sagahutu, his second-in-command, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Augustin Ndindiliyimana, who was chief of staff of the national gendarmerie, will be released immediately after he was sentenced to the time he has served in prison since his arrest in Belgium in January 2000.
Sudan Carries Out Another Air Strike in Darfur: UN
Reuters
May 18, 2011
Sudan has carried out another air strike on a village in Darfur, the international peacekeepers said on Wednesday, days after two other villages were hit in the troubled western region.
Violence in Darfur, scene of an insurgency pitting mostly non-Arab rebels against government troops backed by largely Arab militias, has fallen from its peak in 2003 and 2004 but a surge in attacks since December has forced tens of thousands to flee.
A team of peacekeepers are trying to enter the area of Sukamir, a village in north Darfur where an air strike was reported on Tuesday afternoon, the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) said.
"The team will attempt to collect information on possible casualties and newly displaced persons," it said in a statement.
The incident comes days after the army carried out air strikes on two villages in south Darfur on Sunday, according to UNAMID. The army could not be immediately reached for comment.
UNAMID also said several aid missions had been cancelled and UNAMID flights halted in Darfur because of new government restrictions imposed over security concerns.
Qatar has hosted Darfur peace talks that have been delayed by rebel divisions and continued military operations on the ground as Khartoum has gradually reasserted control over major towns and other previously rebel-held areas.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of masterminding genocide and war crimes in Darfur.
The United Nations says as many as 300,000 people have died during the conflict. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
Earlier this month, Sudan went ahead with a plan to create two additional states in Darfur, a move rebels have condemned as intended to strengthen Khartoum's control over the region.
Khartoum also plans to hold a referendum on July 1 on making Darfur a single region to upgrade its status despite rebel demands to wait until a peace deal has been signed.
Sudan's oil-producing south is due to break away from Khartoum on July 9 after its people voted to secede in January under a 2005 peace deal.
India Asks Sri Lanka to Probe Rights
Hindustan Times
By Sutirtho Patranobis
May 18, 2011
It's a first since the Sri Lankan civil war ended exactly two years ago. New Delhi on Tuesday asked Colombo to probe allegations of human rights violations that have continued to surface since government troops militarily wiped out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, 2009. The issue of human rights violations came up during Lankan foreign minister GL Peiris's three-day visit to New Delhi to discuss, among bilateral issues, the UN panel's report which alleged that tens of thousands of civilians were killed during the last phase of the civil war.
An Indo-Lanka joint statement released on Tuesday urged Colombo to withdraw emergency regulations that give sweeping powers to the government.
The statement also asked Sri Lanka to resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and bring in "genuine" reconciliation among the ethnic groups.
While the joint statement was carefully worded not to mention the damning UN report or the wide array of allegations in it, India bringing up the issue of rights violations could be interpreted as an unspoken endorsement of it.
It is widely believed in Colombo's diplomatic circles and commentators that New Delhi was well aware of the violence unleashed against Tamil civilians by advancing government troops and retreating rebels.
"The External Affairs Minister of India urged the expeditious implementation of measures by the Government of Sri Lanka, to ensure resettlement and genuine reconciliation, including early return of IDPs to their respective homes, early withdrawal of emergency regulations, investigations into allegations of human rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas and redress of humanitarian concerns of affected families," the joint statement said.
Diplomats here were not willing to comment on the statement's specifics but said it was indeed the first occasion that India had, at least officially, brought up the twin issues of investigating rights violations and withdrawing emergency laws.
Critics have repeatedly questioned the need to govern the country under emergency regulations, considered draconian by many, even after two years of the end of the war.
The issue of violence against fishermen was also discussed. "The Indian side conveyed that the incidents of continued violence against Indian fishermen in the vicinity of Sri Lanka were of serious concern," the statement said.
During his visit, Peiris called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and met with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and foreign minister SM Krishna among others.
Non-Governmental Organization Reports
Rights Group Warns on UN "Courtesy"
Democratic Voice of Burma
By Francis Wade
May 12, 2011
The top UN envoy now in Burma should use his meetings with government officials to register disquiet about the absence of any change since elections last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged.
Vijay Nambiar, the chief of staff to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, is expected to meet government figures and opposition figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi in the three-day visit, which began yesterday. It is the first visit by a UN official since the appointment of a nominally civilian government in March.
"The UN and Nambiar should not allow his visit to be misused by the government to shore up its credibility on human rights in the absence of meaningful progress," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement yesterday.
"Should Nambiar fail to speak clearly about the need for meaningful reforms, the government will simply spin his visit to justify their abusive practices."
That sentiment mirror similar concerns voiced by Suu Kyi when she told German broadcaster DW-TV that she hadn't seen "any meaningful change" in the country since the November 2010 polls.
"I know there have been elections but the government that has taken over since the elections are the same as those who were in place before the elections...We are still waiting to see whether there has been real change," she said.
She added that the mooted prospect of ASEAN giving the 2014 chair to Burma would also reward the government whilst doing little to aid progress in the country.
Pearson said that the new leaders were "on a desperate charm offensive to convince the world [that Burma is] a rights-respecting democracy, despite all evidence to the contrary. "Nambiar should therefore use his time in the country to "set the record straight."
Despite various visits from top officials in recent years, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the UN appears to hold little sway with the regime. Critics have claimed that Ban has been too soft in his approach to human rights abuses in the country, while a leaked internal memo last year questioned the relevance of the world body in pariah states like Burma.
According to reports, the UN's special rapporteur for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has again been denied a visa to visit the country. Quintana is a chief proponent of a UN probe into whether war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Burma, a stance that HRW has urged Nambiar to adopt.
Limited Liability for Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Asia Times Online
By Sebastian Strangio
May 13, 2011
Sometime later this year, Cambodia's war crimes court will convene its second trial at which four ailing Khmer Rouge leaders will face a raft of charges including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The four accused – Khmer Rouge "Brother No 2" Nuon Chea, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, head of state Khieu Samphan and minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith – are the most senior surviving leaders of the regime, whose ultra-Maoist revolution led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975-79.
The tribunal's first case, against Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, came to an historic conclusion in July when judges convicted him for his role in the deaths of as many as 15,000 people at Phnom Penh's notorious S-21 prison. The 30-year jail sentence handed down against the wiry former schoolteacher, better known by his revolutionary nom de guerre Duch, is currently under appeal.
As the United Nations-backed tribunal gears up for its much more complicated second case, controversy surrounds the potential indictments of five further mid-ranking Khmer Rouge figures. The names of the suspects in Case 003 and Case 004, as the court refers to them, have not yet been officially disclosed but human-rights activists have named the pair under investigation as Meas Muth, former commander of the Khmer Rouge navy, and ex-air force head Sou Met.
The latter case also allegedly involves Im Chem, a former district chief in Banteay Meanchey province, and a pair of deputy zone secretaries, Yim Tith (alias Ta Tith) and Aom An (alias Ta An).
The government has long opposed any prosecutions beyond the second case, arguing that further arrests could threaten social stability or plunge the nation back into civil war. In October, Prime Minister Hun Sen told visiting UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon that Case 002 would be the tribunal's last and that the pursuit of new cases was "not allowed."
This week, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith warned the tribunal's foreign staff about pushing too hard on the two cases. "If they want to go into Case 003 or 004, they should just pack their bags and return home," the Phnom Penh Post quoted him as saying.
Court monitors and rights activists have recently expressed concerns over apparent signs that the international side of the court is yielding to government pressure. The issue came to a head late last month when the court's co-investigating judges – You Bunleng of Cambodia and Siegfried Blunk of Germany – officially announced that their investigation into Case 003 had been completed. Critics charged that the judges had carried out few if any field investigations in the sensitive case and that the probe had been fast-tracked as a prelude to its likely dismissal by the court.
"The investigating judges have acted precipitously to shut down the investigation, and I say that because we know from talking to people working in the court that they have not gone to crime scenes and done the kind of investigation that one would expect in any criminal case, much less a case of this seriousness," Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told the Associated Press after the investigation was closed. "It was a political decision, it appears, to shut down this case."
Theary Seng, a human-rights activist and victims advocate, said the manner of the announcement – delivered in a curt, one-sentence statement after close of business on a Friday – indicated that Blunk and You Bunleng were shying away from public scrutiny. "It was transparently deceitful," she said. "The judges have a duty – it's not an option – to investigate. They have failed in their duty to investigate and they have failed to inform the public ... It has scarred the legacy of the Khmer Rouge tribunal already."
Bringing the five additional suspects to justice was also important in justifying the overall cost of the tribunal, she said. "There's no magic number as to how many should be prosecuted and should be indicted. But five indictees after $200 million spent with only one verdict is not acceptable. The current five are not sufficient for the crimes that took the lives of 1.7 million Cambodians."
Dereliction of Duty
Under the court's internal rules, which follow the French civil law system, investigating judges conduct the investigation and then submit their evidence to the court's prosecutors, who decide whether to go to trial. In a statement on May 9, international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley said the alleged crimes in Case 003 – which include murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment and enslavement – had "not been fully investigated," and urged the co-investigating judges to "summon and question the suspects" in the case.
He also made public a detailed list of locations across the country thought to be connected with the alleged crimes and gave information to victims wishing to apply as civil parties in the case.
Though court observers welcomed Cayley's disclosure, it lacked the signature of his Cambodian counterpart Chea Leang, a long-time opponent of further prosecutions. The next day, she released her own statement countering the call for further probes, claiming that the suspects in Case 003 fell outside the court's jurisdiction, which restricts its mandate to "senior leaders" of the Khmer Rouge regime and those deemed "most responsible" for its crimes.
Despite their clear disagreement on whether to move forward on the controversial case, Cayley said he would continue to work closely with Chea Leang and fulfill the legal obligations of his position. "She and I both agree that matters within the court need to be handled according to the law," he said. "As the international prosecutor, I have a legal obligation and a duty to act and follow the rules and we have never been in disagreement on that."
Clair Duffy, a court monitor with the Open Society Justice Initiative, said that whatever the extent of Cayley's legally-invested powers, he and other international judges are likely to face significant practical difficulties as the pursuit of the case runs up against entrenched government opposition. "In terms of securing national cooperation in the investigation and arrest of suspects, the Cambodian government needs to lift its opposition to these cases and make this happen," she said. She added that the UN needed to "step up" and pressure Phnom Penh to cease its meddling in the case.
The longstanding conflict between the Cambodian and international sides of the tribunal reflects the awkward political compromise that gave birth to the hybrid court. The brewing disagreement over additional prosecutions is likely to bring such issues to a head and court observers say the fate of the two cases will be a test of the tribunal's credibility. "The point is that the issue affects more than just Case 003 and Case 004 – it affects the whole of the court," Duffy said. "Judicial independence is a fundamental tenet of any justice system. The implications of a lack of judicial independence or of political decision making by judges are huge."
Court spokesman Lars Olsen said that it was "premature" to make any kind of judgment about political interference at the tribunal. "It's too early to predict what will be the legacy of the court," he said, adding that "regardless of what will be the outcome of the investigation, the decisions of the judges will be made public" and open to scrutiny.
Theary Seng, whose parents perished under the Khmer Rouge regime, said she was hopeful that pressure was now building on the court to push forward with the third case, and that the UN would be forced to put up a "good fight" against government manipulation. "The UN failing to address these concerns will damage and further embed cynicism in the Cambodian population," she said. "The UN will be greatly implicated if they don't act."
Amnesty International Reports on Human Rights Violations
The Sunday Leader
By Maryan Azwer
May 15, 2011
In yet another call for accountability by the Government of Sri Lanka, human rights advocate Amnesty International (AI) in its latest annual report has claimed that Sri Lanka not only allowed a series of human rights violations to take place last year, but has also failed to address past cases of such violations.
The report, officially released on Friday (May 13), for the most part, seems to hold the Sri Lankan Government, its allies, the security forces and the police responsible for these violations.
Interestingly, in its description of the background to the human rights status in Sri Lanka, the AI report first draws attention to events in the political arena that took place last year. These include President Rajapaksa's re-election to office at the January 2010 Presidential Elections, and the subsequent arrest of main opposition candidate and former Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka.
A "Depressing" Situation
The AI report, which takes into account human rights abuses in 157 countries, in its regional overview says that "The Government of Sri Lanka spent the year trying to avoid accountability for the war crimes and human rights violations that characterised the long conflict which ended in the military annihilation of the armed group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (themselves responsible for numerous human rights abuses) — at the cost of thousands of civilians killed, injured and detained."
In an email interview with The Sunday Leader Amnesty International said that although the organisation did not rate countries in terms of human rights abuses, the situation in Sri Lanka remained "pretty depressing."
"The Sri Lankan national justice system is extremely weak and seldom functions independently or impartially," said AI's Researcher on Sri Lanka, Yolanda Foster.
Among the main human rights violations recorded by AI are enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, extra judicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment, violations by government-allied armed groups and attacks on human rights defenders and journalists.
AI, which is among those groups who have called for an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes carried out in May 2009, has also expressed concerns with regard to impunity.
The report states that "Investigations into human rights violations by the military, police and other official bodies and individuals made no apparent progress; court cases did not proceed. Military and civilian officials rejected allegations that Sri Lankan forces had violated international humanitarian law in the final phase of the armed conflict that ended in May 2009 and made repeated public statements claiming that "zero civilian casualties had occurred."
Access Denied
Another issue raised by AI is that the organisation has little access to information in the country.
Yolanda Foster said that "One of the challenges we face in documenting human rights issues in Sri Lanka is the lack of independent commissions that would be able to corroborate information." The organisation has also been denied access to Sri Lanka to conduct field research.
She claims that AI has written to Sri Lankan authorities, including the Human Rights Commission, requesting up-to-date information and clarifications on human rights concerns, but is yet to receive the information requested.
LLRC Criticised
Amnesty International, which was among three human rights groups that last year refused to make submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), has in its report also said that the LLRC mandate "made no mention of accountability."
The report goes on to state that "The Commission seemed destined to join the other ultimately futile special bodies established over the last two decades to address impunity in Sri Lanka, without actually leading to justice."
Hope for accountability centered on an advisory panel of experts assigned to assist UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in assessing the need for an international accountability mechanism. According to AI's Researcher on Sri Lanka, the LLRC has failed to act on concerns raised by people who made submissions at LLRC sittings, claiming that family members had either disappeared or were tortured at the hands of security forces.
"Despite these complaints, the LLRC has not been vocal in pushing for domestic criminal investigations and justice proceedings when witnesses to the Commission have alleged human rights violations. This failure to tackle serious abuses must be challenged," she said.
New Zealand SAS Troops Implicated in Afghan War Crimes
World Socialist Web Site
By John Braddock
May 16, 2011
New evidence has emerged that New Zealands' Special Air Service (SAS) troops detained prisoners during operations in Afghanistan and then handed them over to US and Afghan forces who tortured them. An investigation published in the May issue of Metro magazine provided damning evidence that the elite force is complicit in human rights abuses, with successive New Zealand governments covering them up.
Among those implicated is former Chief of Defence Force (NZDF) Jerry Mateparae, who was recently appointed by the conservative National government as the country's next Governor-General. He has consistently defended the activities and record of the SAS and blocked Metro's Official Information Act requests for material. Matapere assumes his new position, which includes the power to dismiss the government, in August.
New Zealand is a signatory to international conventions, including the Geneva Convention, against torture and inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners. Its military cannot transfer prisoners unless they are satisfied they will not be tortured or treated inhumanely. The Metro investigation, by veteran journalist Jon Stephenson, uncovered details of three incidents — one in 2002 and two in 2010 — when the SAS defied these rules.
In May 2002, the SAS led a mission in the village of Bande Timur, 80 kilometres west of Kandahar. According to Metro, it resulted in the deaths of at least three people, all civilians, and the detention of 55 others. The detainees were transferred to US custody, severely mistreated and, in some cases, tortured.
"They beat us very badly in prison," one of the prisoners, Abdul Wahid, told Stephenson. "They cut off our hair, and they shaved our beards and moustaches." Others said they were bound and hooded, threatened with dogs and paraded naked in front of Americans. One man was said to have been beaten so severely that he ended up disabled and in a wheelchair. The men were later released without charge.
The raid was justified on the grounds that the SAS was looking for a "high value target" in the Taliban leadership. The US intelligence proved to be wrong. While not identifying the involvement of New Zealand troops, a 2004 Human Rights Watch report entitled "Enduring Freedom: Abuses by US forces in Afghanistan" cited the incident as an example in which the US and its allies had endangered the lives of Afghan civilians.
Metro also detailed two incidents last year. An SAS prisoner was handed to the Afghan National Army, who intended to tie the man to a vehicle and drag him for over 100 kilometres of gravel road. The SAS intervened and handed the prisoner to the Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU), who then passed him to the Afghan secret police, the notorious National Directorate of Security (NDS). A British court has banned British forces from giving prisoners to the NDS following evidence that hundreds of detainees transferred to its custody were tortured. Allegations included the amputation of limbs, electric shocks, deprivation of sleep, water and food, beatings by rod and cable, scorching and killings.
In an incident on Christmas Eve, an SAS raid on the Kabul head office of equipment supply company Tiger International resulted in the killing of two security guards. Several Tiger employees were taken prisoner and handed over to the NDS. The prisoners were recognised by the NDS and released. In the wake of the raid, the Afghan government criticised the unit for exceeding its mandate — operations in Kabul are supposed to be led by Afghan troops — and SAS operations were halted while the incident was reviewed. A report released by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the NZDF exonerated the soldiers, claiming they had fired in self-defence.
Political leaders from both National and Labour have maintained a shroud of secrecy over the activities of the SAS. Prime Minister John Key claimed last August that when the unit handed a detainee to other units, they made sure that person would not be tortured.
According to Metro, "the opposite is true." It quoted a senior Afghan special forces officer who claimed that the SAS was "very, very involved" in handing over prisoners in conditions where NZ forces could not possibly be satisfied they would be treated humanely. One SAS trooper told Stephenson they always knew what would happen when prisoners were handed to US forces. He said he had personally witnessed head-shaven prisoners in jumpsuits in their custody. "It looked like Guantanamo Bay", he noted.
The Metro revelations are not the first questions raised over SAS activities. Last month, it was revealed that the SAS had taken part in a secret mission to kill the alleged Taliban "insurgents" responsible for the first combat death of a New Zealand soldier in Afghanistan last August.
A NATO-led operation involving the SAS took place two weeks later. A Baghlan district governor claimed there were eight civilian casualties. A NATO investigation later claimed that a malfunctioning helicopter gunsight had resulted in errant fire. The NZ government kept the raid secret for nine months. When Defence Minister Wayne Mapp finally spoke, he denied it had been a "revenge" mission or that any civilians were killed.
The thrust of the Metro article was that the SAS troops have been unwilling participants in war crimes. However, the character of their operations is determined by the predatory and illegal nature of the occupation in Afghanistan.
The US and its NATO-led allies are conducting a counter-insurgency war aimed at crushing the resistance among the Afghan people to the presence of foreign troops and the establishment of a US-backed puppet regime in Kabul. The war in Afghanistan is a neo-colonial venture being waged by US imperialism for its geo-political interests in the resource-rich Central Asian region.
The SAS, a specialist troop of highly-trained killers, has been dispatched to assist in the campaign to crush Afghan opposition to the occupation. Its primary function in counter-insurgency operations is the cold-blooded execution or capture of suspected insurgents. During its previous tours, working as part of a US-led Joint Special Operations Taskforce, the unit proved so valuable that it received a rare citation from the Bush administration.
This was underscored in January when the unit's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Parsons, was awarded the United States' highest decoration for foreign officers, the Defense Meritorious Service medal.
The government and armed forces have closed ranks over the Metro allegations. A Defence Force spokesman claimed the incidents described in the article were either inaccurate or did not happen. Key attacked Stephenson personally, saying he was "not credible". The journalist countered by challenging the Defence Force to face an independent inquiry, saying that it would "show they are the ones misleading the public."
Labour and the Greens have backed an inquiry and called for the SAS to be withdrawn from Afghanistan. Both parties, however, support the continued presence of so-called Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) troops in Afghanistan. The PRT, based in Bamiyan province, is just as much a part of the US-led war as the SAS. Its purpose is to try to bolster support for the Karzai puppet government and the presence of foreign troops.
The purported differences of Labour and the Greens with the Key government are a sham. It was a Labour government — supported by its coalition partner, the "left-wing" Alliance — that sent the SAS to Afghanistan in the first place. Whether the current New Zealand government has troops in Afghanistan operating as part of a PRT or on SAS combat patrols, it is a participant in the illegal occupation of the impoverished country.
Former Rwandan Army Chief Gets 30 Years for Genocide
CNN
May 17, 2011
A war crimes tribunal for Rwanda sentenced the African nation's former army chief to 30 years in prison Tuesday for his part in the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Augustin Bizimungu guilty on six counts of genocide, crimes against humanity for murder, extermination and rape and violations of the Geneva Conventions.
During the genocide, soldiers and police under Bizimungu's command directed the extermination of tens of thousands of Tutsi civilians who had taken refuge in churches, hospitals and schools, according to Human Rights Watch. Soldiers and police also ordered civilian officials and ordinary citizens to join in hunting down and killing the Tutsi and punished them if they failed to do so, the human rights monitoring group said.
Bizimungu fled to Angola, where he was arrested in 2002 and transferred to the tribunal. In 2004, he was charged with directly ordering brutal acts against Tutsis and failing to halt the acts of his subordinates. He denied the charges.
The tribunal also convicted two other senior officers –– François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye and Innocent Sagahutu –– who each got 20 years in prison.
The Rwandan genocide was triggered by the April 6, 1994, shooting down of a plane carrying the nation's Hutu president. Ethnic violence erupted and Tutsis were killed systematically by Hutus. The United Nations estimates that some 200,000 people participated in the perpetration of the Rwandan genocide.
In all, 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and children –– as well as moderate Hutus –– perished.
Seven Killed by Police at Mosque, Says Imam
Daily Nation
By Hassan Huka
May 10, 2011
A survivor of the 1967 Isiolo Jamia Mosque killings told the Truth team how the police shot the faithful.
Sheikh Abdinasir Osman told the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission on Tuesday that a group of heavily armed members of the General Service Unit approached them as they gathered in front of the mosque after finishing their afternoon prayers.
Sheikh Osman, now the imam of the mosque, said the officers did not warn them of any impending security operation in the area and instead advanced towards the eight men at the gate and opened fire indiscriminately.
Seven men were killed on the spot. Although he survived, he was left traumatised for many years.
The commission heard that the officers were pursuing a tailor who had run away when they found the faithful resting at the main gate.
Sheikh Osman said the seven were gunned down as they tried to escape through the fence.
He told the commission that he miraculously survived after an elder who had been shot fell on him and he was covered with blood.
The police believed everyone was dead after the shooting and I pretended to be dead, sheikh Osman told the commission.
When I remembered the elder under whose body I survived, I would cry, said the imam, adding that he used to have nightmares.
The commission heard that officers wearing red berets went on a killing spree in Bula Pesa settlement area during the Shifta War.
According to Sheikh Osman, the killings were stopped after a group of Kenya Army officers under the command of Major Adan Gabio intervened.
He told the truth team that after the army restored calm in the town, people were taken to police stations for their safety .
Isiolo Massacre Survivors Tell of Rape and Mass Graves
The Star
By Hussein Salesa
May 12, 2011
Victims of torture during Daaba massacre in Garba-Tulla yesterday said excessive force by soldiers and bombs blasts were to blame for induced abortions, mental illness and impotence among men in northern Kenya in the 1960s.
The victims, who presented a memorandum to the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission, in Isiolo, dubbed 'Dying an Invisible Death and Living an Invisible Life', the survivors said women affected by the blasts miscarried, houses caved in while some men could not sire children.
Tears streamed down their faces as Yusuf Halake of Pastoralists Reform Programme told of the suffering that led to killings and later destruction of homes and killing of cattle and camels. Halake said soldiers raped women as children and husbands watched.
Soldiers buried the dead in mass graves after the late Provincial Commissioner Eliud Mahihu sanctioned the killings in 1965 when parts of North Eastern province threatened to secede and become part of Somalia.
Although the attacks were aimed at Somalis, the Borana and Sakuye community, became victims of the massacre since the army could not distinguish the difference.
The commission led by Tecla Namachanja heard that hundreds of the Sakuye and Borana migrated to Somalia because they felt betrayed by the Kenya government.
A large number of the returnees in Gafarsa and Dabale have not been given identification cards, six years after they were reunited with their relatives in Kenya.
Halake said: "Some of our relatives who returned to Kenya as late as 1999 have never been issued with IDs because the government branded them foreigners."
Boru Wako, 69, said communities lost about 300,000 camels, 500,000 cattle and 3,000 donkeys, leading to widespread poverty in the region. He said the Catholic and the Methodist Church helped them resettle after the war, but since the government had neglected the area and considered them as marginalized groups, there were sporadic attacks by bandits and Kenyan security officers which left them without livestock. Wako said the atrocities bred fear and suspicion between the society and security forces still evident to date.
Robosi said rising cases of insecurity and banditry could be attributed to illiteracy that makes idle youth engage in crime and the community's reluctance to volunteer information to the police.
Survivors petitioned the government to compensate the victims of atrocities and issue ID cards to lure Kenya still in Somalia to return.
Waso trust land co-ordinator Guyo Shano said while government policy of emergency and security operations was not new in Isiolo district or the greater NFD, both before and after Daaba, the massacres in Daaba between 1965-1967 were outrageous and unacceptable.
Daaba massacre took place between 1965 and 1967, immediately after Kenya's independence. It took place in Isiolo district in Eastern province of Kenya. It was centred on the then three divisions of the district, namely: Merti, Garba Tulla and Modogashe.
As the clamour for Kenya's independence was rising in the 1950s and 1960s, new political parties cropped up in the south Kenya. The Northern Frontier Districts region of Kenya was not left out. Political Parties representing the interests of the pastroralists emerged. The two major parties from the north were the Northern Province Peoples Progressive Party and the Northern People Union Association.
Bid to Disarm Clan 'Led to Wagalla Massacre'
Daily Nation
By John Ngirachu
May 16, 2011
The security operation that ended in the infamous Wagalla massacre was mounted to recover illegal firearms from members of the Degodia clan of the Somali community.
Mr Manasseh Tiame, who was the Wajir District Commissioner at the time said the operation was authorised by members of the Kenya Intelligence Committee and the District Security Committee.
Mr Tiame on Monday told the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission that although the operation to mop up the arms was successful, he was remorseful that it also resulted in deaths and alleged rape.
"When I saw the firearms recovered, I was happy, but when I heard that people had died, I was sad," said Mr Tiame, who retired from the civil service in 2003 as an under-secretary in the Ministry of Trade.
"I feel there should be an apology. I apologise because our operation was not to kill but to disarm the people and bring peace," he added.
Mr Tiame said he was informed by the Wajir intelligence officer, then known as the Special Branch, that 57 people had died.
He was later sent on leave abruptly, with the signal instructing him to leave his post alleging the decision had been made by retired President Daniel Moi.
He told the commission at a special hearing that the meeting of intelligence and security chiefs was held in Wajir on February 8, 1984.
According to Mr Tiame, the operation was to start two days later, and was to be undertaken by the Army and members of the regular and Administration Police under a Maj Mudogo.
There had been fighting between the Ajurra and Degodia clans, said Mr Tiame, and the Degodias had refused to hand over illegal firearms while the Ajurra had obliged.
Mr Tiame said the operation would cover "all areas periodically occupied by the Degodia", and all the men would be rounded up for interrogation.
Major Mudogo had initially suggested that the men be taken to an army camp, but members of the District Security Committee chaired by Mr Tiame preferred the Wagalla Airstrip, which was fenced.
TJRC Summons Former Senior State Officers
Standard Media
By Athman Amran
May 19, 2011
The fate of 27 former senior Government officials who were allegedly directly or indirectly involved in the 1984 Wagalla massacre will be known before the end of the month.
The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) may recommend prosecution of some individuals after hearing them out on May 17 and 18 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), Nairobi.
TJRC said yesterday most of those summoned, including former TJRC chairman Bethuel Kiplagat, former Cabinet Minister GG Kariuki and former Provincial Commissioner Joseph Kaguthi have accepted to appear before the commission next week.
Others summoned include former Cabinet Minister David Mwiraria, former Chief of General Staff Joseph Kibwana and former PC Benson Kaaria and members of the then intelligence committee, Kenya Army and the Provincial Administration. A number of those summoned have also told the TJRC they will be accompanied by their lawyers.
"Their testimony will enable the commission to develop a complete picture of the violations and injustices in northern Kenya and make the appropriate recommendations to prevent their recurrence," Ag TJRC chairperson Tecla Namachanja said at a news conference at the commission's offices in Nairobi yesterday.
Apart from prosecution of those found guilty, the TJRC can also recommend amnesty where appropriate for those who have not committed gross violations and also institutional reform and reparations.
Apartheid Victims to Get TRC Payouts
News24
May 14, 2011
Government will pay out millions of rands to compensate victims of apartheid era atrocities, the Sunday Times reported.
Those who qualify for financial assistance include victims and their children, even if they were born in or out of wedlock or were adopted.
People with parental responsibilities over victims and their children will also be eligible for compensation.
The regulations have come about from the work of a joint committee, established to consider the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), on reparation for victims.
The committee's decisions were approved by parliament and now have to be implemented by President Jacob Zuma, the report said.
The Justice and Constitutional Affairs Department, has gazetted proposed regulations, paving the way for assistance to victims and their children, at the start of their schooling careers to the completion of their tertiary studies.
The gazette indicates that compensation to victims must be paid from the President's Fund, established to provide reparations to those who suffered gross human rights violations during apartheid.
The TRC is said to have collected statements from about 21 000 people.
Doors Still Closed on Truth About May 19
Bangkok Post
By Piyaporn Wongruang
May 15, 2011
As the first-year anniversary of the military's operation to clear red shirt protesters from the Ratchaprasong area approaches, the independent body charged with finding out what took place during the conflict is struggling to piece the puzzle together.
This Thursday marks 12 months since the troops moved in, which triggered a spate of arson attacks in Bangkok and upcountry provinces.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT), established by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government to come up with solutions to the political divide and investigate the violence, last month released the first of three reports.
The interim report found that 92 people died during the conflict: 89 in Bangkok, two in Udon Thani, and one in Khon Kaen. A total of 1,885 people were injured, comprising 542 government personnel, military and police officers and 1,343 civilians.
Somchai Hom-laor, head of the TRCT's investigation subcommittee, said the main obstacle to finding the truth was lack of cooperation from the military and police.
"We need to establish the common truth of what happened so that people can learn about its causes and start reconciling," he said.
The committee's initial finding is that at least 13 people died as a result of actions taken by the military. Three out of the six people who died at Wat Pathum Wanaram, which was designated as a safe haven, also probably died as a result of actions taken by the military, Mr Somchai said. He said the committee had been able to invite some military officers to come forward, but none was responsible for the May 19 operations.
The committee's findings on the 13 deaths are in line with those of the Department of Special Investigation which has reported the cases to the National Police Office. However, no charges have been forwarded to the courts, Mr Somchai said.
Human Rights Watch conducted an independent investigation into the bloodshed in April and May and found that at least three people at Wat Pathum may have died as a result of military action.
The report said the military and police used excessive force.
The rights group also noted that armed elements infiltrated the red shirt rallies, but added they could not confirm who they were.
The HRW called for an impartial, transparent and independent inquiry, with guarantees that the military would cooperate.
Phayao Akahad, the mother of Kamolket, a nurse shot dead at Wat Pathum, said she was disappointed with the investigations. No one has told her who shot her daughter and she has not received an apology.
On Friday, Mrs Phayao mounted the red shirt stage for the first time to grieve about her daughter's death.
"To know the truth is important as we will know what to do next. Punishing those who did that to my daughter is part of it, of course. But more importantly, justice should be served so we can move on," said Mrs Phayao.
City Recovers, but Pain Lingers
Bankok Post
By Achara Ashayagachat
May 19, 2011
A year after the May 19 crackdown, more than 130 red shirts who resisted the military are still behind bars. Their bail requests have been repeatedly denied by the courts.
Most of the detainees, especially those in the northeastern provinces of Mukdahan, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani, were charged with arson of state properties.
About 800 red shirts were arrested nationwide and most of them were gradually released due to lack of evidence.
A total of 175 people nationwide including Bangkok were charged under the emergency decree with acts of violence and other criminal charges including terrorism. Of those, five were released after serving jail time, and 35 were released on bail.
Based on accounts given to the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand, most detainees could be bystanders.
Police and prosecutors have told the courts that many of the suspects were arrested on the basis of photographic evidence only.
Anond Nampha, a lawyer for the Rasadorn Prasong's Jurist Group, a volunteer lawyers' group helping the accused, said relatives of the detainees would travel to Bangkok to petition the Office of the Attorney-General today to have the cases withdrawn.
"As the country is in the election mode and gearing towards reconciliation, relatives of the detainees are hoping their call for a good-will gesture will receive attention," said Mr Anond.
Further prosecution of small cases related to the unrest would not do any public good, the lawyer said.
The plight of grassroots red-shirts has attracted little attention from the public at large. "If they are granted bail, they could prepare themselves to fight those charges. That means they could defend their basic rights better," he said.
Most detainees faced multiple charges. The charges concerning damaging state properties and arson have proven to be the most complicated and lengthy.
The bail set for these red shirt detainees is high – 500,000 baht on average.
Mr Anond said while the UDD and Pheu Thai party have said they are willing to act as guarantors, the courts have denied the red shirts' requests for bail.
"Detainees in provinces face greater difficulties as they are often the main earners of low-income families.
Their detention was a real catastrophe for their dependents, young or old," he said.
Winai Pinsinchai, 33, a street vendor, spent eight months in prison and was released on bail a few months ago.
During the first few months of his detention in Mukdahan, he felt so stressed that he tried to commit suicide by swallowing liquid fabric softener.
The father of two still has to take stress-relief pills.
"I've heard voices in my head. Sometimes I'm scared to be among people. But overall, it's a lot better now than being in the cell.
At least I can help my wife sell kluay thod [fried banana] and khanom tokyo [Japanese crepe] and take care of my two kids," said Mr Winai, a Nakhon Pathom native.
"All I did was roll a few tyres around to protest against the crackdown in Bangkok. Why did they arrest me for arson?" he asked.
Mr Winai said some people set state properties on fire, while others tried to calm them down. "I was among those who tried to talk to the mobs. But there were so many people and I was tired.
"I returned to my daily chores and buying cooking gas for my wife and delivering kluay thod to a shop near Lotus [superstore.]
"When I went back to the scene, it was already in flames," he said.
Mr Winai did not feel he had been abandoned by the UDD or Pheu Thai. "They could not offer the detainees direct assistance, because they may face further state action.
"Many core leaders also face serious charges like terrorism," said Mr Winai.
His wife was understanding and stood by him. "Some detainees were abandoned by their wives," he said.
Mr Winai plans to join the Bangkok rally to mark the event today. "I joined the red shirt protest in Bangkok last year too. I do not like double standards. I hate injustice. I feel I still have to fight against it even now," said Winai.
"They can lock up my body but they cannot put a lock on my soul," he said.
Serbia Can and Must Do More, UN War Crimes Prosecutor Warns
Monsters and Critics
May 11, 2011
Serbia must do more to bring fugitive war crime suspects to justice, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said Wednesday in Belgrade.
'Serbia can do more and must do more,' the prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, told reporters at the end of the final visit ahead of his regular six-month report to the United Nations. He repeated that there is 'no alternative to the arrest' of fugitives.
Politicians in Belgrade say the Brammertz report could sway the European Union in its decision whether or not to promote Serbia to membership candidate status in 2011.
Brammertz, whose term expires at the end of 2011, stressed that Serbia must arrest the fugitive suspects, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic,
Mladic was commander of the Serb army in Bosnia during the 1992-95 war. The ICTY has charged him with genocide, holding him responsible for atrocities such as the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.
Hadzic faces war crimes charges for his role as a leading figure in the Serb insurgency in Croatia.
The director of the Serbian office in charge of cooperation with the ICTY, Dusan Ignjatovic, acknowledged that Brammertz was 'dissatisfied' because Mladic and Hadzic remain on the run.
However, in an interview with TV B92, he said he expected Mladic and Hadzic to play a 'secondary role' in 'the context of (Serbia's) European integration.'
This contradicts the official position of the Netherlands and Belgium which have promised not to allow Serbia to progress to EU membership before it delivers war crimes suspects to justice.
Serbia must meet not just the requirements in relation to war crimes, but all the usual criteria required of prospective candidates, Dutch parliamentarian Herda Ferburg said during a visit to Belgrade this week.
The Netherlands will base its decision on Serbia's candidacy on the Brammertz report in June and the European Commission's status report on Serbia in October, Ferburg, head of the Dutch parliamentary committee for European affairs, said.
Despite calls for caution from EU officials, Belgrade politicians appear confident the EU will grant Serbia candidate membership status in December. President Boris Tadic has said that early polls will be called after that.
Legal Arithmetic: Adding Up the Legality of Operation Geronimo
Jurist
By David Crane
May 14, 2011
To assist in the important debate related to the targeting of Osama Bin Laden, I offer up a formula to assist in this important debate related to that targeting. Though simplistic, and in acknowledgement of valid concerns legally and practically related to the targeting, this formula helps clear an intellectual path to a conclusion that perhaps his targeting was lawful.
The death of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan was a lawful military operation. It is a matter of (A) + (B) = (C). When a nation contemplates the use of force, that force must be done with legal authority (A) and within the strictures of the laws of armed conflict (B). If there is both legal authority and that force follows the principles laid down by The Hague Rules of 1907 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 then there can be a justified result (C).
Let's break down the formula further using the facts that are apparent in the killing of Bin Laden. In the early morning hours of May 2nd (Pakistan time), United States Special Operations Forces dynamically entered the compound where Bin Laden, some members of his family, and others lived. Let's consider (A) the legal authority. After September 11, 2001, Congress authorized the Commander-in-Chief at the time to use force against those individuals who had perpetrated the attack on the United States that fateful day. Under our constitutional scheme, the President could direct the National Command Authority to use armed force against Al Qaeda, including Bin Laden and others. Additional international authorizations via the United Nations and NATO followed. Overlaid in this authorization to use force was the basic international principle of the inherent right of a nation to self-defense, found in Art. 51 of the UN Charter.
Domestically, the authorized use of force was most certainly buttressed by a Presidential finding to kill Bin Laden as a hostile. By law the President must inform the leadership in Congress about these findings. This apparently was done years ago.
Thus President Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo and to executive the plan. The (A) part of the formula is complete. However in order to have a justified result (C) there must be the comporting of that use of force with the laws of armed conflict (B). Was Operation Geronimo conducted within the parameters of the rules of war?
When the Special Forces entered the compound they had to use the force authorized by following certain principles: military necessity, proportionality, and distinction/discrimination. Bin Laden had been declared a hostile target and as such there was a militarily necessary reason to engage him, an act to further the military objectives of the international community and the United States against Al Qaeda, the Taliban and global terrorism. If there is no militarily necessary reason to engage a target then engaging it is illegal. There was a military necessary reason to engage Bin Laden; hence the principle of military necessity was satisfied.
When the Special Operation Forces entered Bin Laden's bedroom the force that they used was proportional to the threat proffered by those in that room. Bin Laden apparently showed no sign of surrendering and there were weapons close by him. The use of assigned small arms to engage the lawful target was a proportional response to the threat Bin Laden posed to the Special Forces. The principle of proportionality was thus satisfied.
A final relevant principle related to the use of force in the operation was that of distinction/discrimination. When force is used, the force must be discriminate with the target distinctly engaged. What does this mean? Those who use that force must aim at the target they intend to engage ensuring no one that is protected under the law of armed conflict, e.g. civilians, are hit. The intentional targeting of civilians is never authorized except in self-defense. Unintentional injury or death of civilians in a military operation is called collateral damage and, though unfortunate, not a violation of law. Here the use of force in Bin Laden's room was very discriminate, two well-aimed shots once in the chest and head of the military target, Bin Laden. The principle of distinction and discrimination was satisfied. The alleged shooting of a wife of Bin Laden appears to have been in self-defense according to the facts given by the Obama administration.
Other persons in the compound were either protected, such as the children, or those who offered resistance or who fired on the Special Forces also were properly engaged as hostile at a minimum under the principle of self-defense. It appears that no civilians were intentionally targeted. Thus the essential (B) part of the equation was satisfied.
Since (A) legal authority and (B) adhering to the laws of armed conflict were in place, the killing of Bin Laden, and those who engaged the Special Forces to protect him were justified killings under our domestic law as well as international law (C). The killing of human beings is never to be lightly taken and when it is done it must be done lawfully. The death of Bin Laden was lawful. It was a matter of (A) + (B) = (C) as well as a great deal of courage by our armed forces.
Ocampo Ready to Prosecute Gaddafi
Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW)
By Thijs Bouwknegt
May 16, 2011
Will Gaddafi end up in the dock in The Hague? Yes, if it's up to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to decide. "We are almost ready for trial." said Luis Moreno Ocampo at a press conference today, announcing that the court is seeking arrest warrants for the Libyan leader and two others.
The ICC's chief prosecutor says Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the Libyan military intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi are responsible for committing crimes against humanity by persecuting and killing protesters during an uprising which began in mid-February.
"The office gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Muammar Gaddafi himself, direct evidence about Saif al-Islam organising the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of the participation of al-Senussi in the attacks against demonstrators."
The chief prosecutor added that his office also documented how the three held meetings "to plan the operations" and Gaddafi used his "absolute authority to commit crimes in Libya." Ocampo is confident he has enough evidence."We have such strong evidence, such direct evidence that we're almost ready for trial," he says.
Ocampo's investigators undertook 30 missions to 11 countries. There they collected over 1,200 documents, including videos and pictures and interviewed more than 50 people.
It is the fastest investigation by Ocampo's office in The Hague so far. The UN Security Council sent him to investigate ongoing atrocities against civilians in late February. The prosecutor was quick to act, convinced he can help prevent further crimes.
He already told the council two weeks ago "crimes against humanity have been and continue to be committed in Libya, attacking unarmed civilians including killings and persecutions in many cities across Libya."
Ocampo said he will continue his investigations on "different forms of persecution against civilians, as well as acts of rape and the unlawful arrest, mistreatment and killings of sub-Saharan Africans wrongly perceived to be mercenaries." He added that war crimes charges might also be laid.
In the meantime, it is up to a panel of ICC judges to decide whether or not to issue the warrants. And if they do, Ocampo faces an even bigger struggle: actually getting the Libyans to The Hague. The ICC does not have a police force and Ocampo has already called on states "to prepare for arrests should judges decide to issue arrest warrants. Now is the time to start planning on how to implement possible arrest warrants," he said.
This is not the first time an international war crimes prosecutor has probed Colonel Gaddafi's actions. His name was often mentioned in Freetown, in The Hague and in the courtrooms of the Special Court for Sierra Leone SCSL. With the Sierra Leone tribunal in The Hague wrapping up the case against the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, critics maintain others should also be held accountable for war crimes in West Africa.
The Libyan leader trained Taylor and Sierra Leonean rebels at his World Revolutionary Headquarters camps in the 1980s and allegedly funded the warmongers in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Gaddafi has not been indicted by the court. Its first prosecutor, David Crane, recently hinted that the main sponsors of the tribunal would have cut funding if he had gone after the Libyan leader at the time.
If Ocampo's prosecution bid proves successful Gaddafi might meet Taylor again, but this time in the Scheveningen detention unit.
International Court Seeks Warrant for Qaddafi
New York Times
By Marlise Simons
May 16, 2011
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Monday sought arrest warrants for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya, a son and the colonel's brother-in-law on charges of orchestrating systematic attacks against civilians that amount to crimes against humanity.
A warrant is also sought for Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of Libya's leader, shown in 2008. The son was once believed to be a reformer.
The chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Colonel Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanousi formed an inner circle that crushed peaceful demonstrations and ordered the use of live ammunition and heavy weapons against protesters.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said he had "direct evidence" that the three men had held meetings to plan and direct the operations. Mr. Qaddafi's "second-eldest son, Seif al-Islam, is a de facto prime minister, and Abdullah al-Sanousi is his right-hand man, his executioner," the prosecutor said.
A three-judge panel will decide whether to issue arrest warrants. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo seemed to send a clear message from Western governments when he said that it was not up to others, or NATO, but to Libyans themselves to make any arrests.
It was unclear what effect the court's action would have on the NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya, which has moved closer to the hiding places of the country's leadership. NATO officials were not immediately available at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Monday night to say whether an arrest warrant would embolden them to intensify airstrikes on Libya's command-and-control centers and, by extension, against Colonel Qaddafi and his son and brother-in-law.
But Oana Lungescu, the senior NATO spokeswoman, said by e-mail that the court's announcement was "further proof that the international isolation of the Qaddafi regime is growing every day." She added, "It is hard to imagine that a genuine transition in Libya can take place while those responsible for widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population remain in power."
At a news conference at The Hague, the prosecutor hinted that he had received intelligence from other governments, from Libyans outside the country and recently from "a lot of phone calls from inside Libya," but he said his office was not taking evidence from witnesses inside the country "because they can be killed." There was so much evidence, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said, that "we're almost ready for trial."
Jalal al-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebels' Transitional National Council, said he hoped that news of the arrest warrants might spur NATO to widen its bombing campaign. "I honestly believe it has to be continuous, relentless," Mr. Gallal said. "I think they realize it. They need to intensify now."
Officials in Tripoli have already said they will ignore any of the court's decisions, and there appears little chance that any of the three men named could be arrested at home any time soon.
Libya is not among the 114 countries that recognize the court. But in this case, the charges against Libyan leaders carry additional weight because it was the United Nations Security Council that unanimously decided in February to instruct the court to investigate the crackdown against civilians.
A senior Libyan official said the court had no jurisdiction over Libya because the Qaddafi government was not a signatory to the treaty that created it.
"Since we are not a party to the treaty, I think we will not be paying a lot of attention to the announcement of the I.C.C.," Khalid Kaim, a deputy foreign minister, told reporters early Monday.
Discussing Libya recently, some diplomats have said they hoped that the prospect of arrest warrants would prompt new defections from the Qaddafi ranks and press other countries to further isolate the accused or arrest them in the unlikely event that they traveled abroad. But others said that it would narrow the list of places where Colonel Qaddafi or his close associates could go into exile, should such a deal be made. While governments can promise immunity from prosecution, the court cannot.
Lawyers in The Hague said the naming of Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, for a time believed to be a reformer, made it clear that he was now playing a central part in the repression, meaning he could no longer be a transitional figure or peace broker, as some had thought.
Although the threat of pending criminal charges has been well known in Tripoli for weeks, there has been little evidence that it has been a deterrent to Colonel Qaddafi or those around him.
Investigators for the prosecution have conducted their interviews in a dozen countries and have had access to defectors from the Libyan government, according to the prosecutor's office.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that ample evidence showed that Colonel Qaddafi "personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians."
"His forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in the public space, shot demonstrators with live ammunition, used heavy weaponry against participants in funeral processions and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after the prayers."
was continuing in the areas under Mr. Qaddafi's control, he said, and a network of informants had prepared lists of dissidents "who are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear."
Investigations have focused on the initial violent clampdown against protesters, although the prosecutor said that other crimes were being examined.
Hours after the court's announcement, the Tripoli government issued a statement denying it had "ordered the killing of civilians, or hired mercenaries against our people." It added, "It is the rebels who took up arms in the middle of our peaceful cities and caused the death of many people" and recruited "fighters from several nationalities."
Even if the warrants result in indictments, the prosecutor must depend on the political will of others to capture suspects because the international court has no police powers.
Justice Breyer Recalls Legal Lessons of the Holocaust
Washington Wire
By Jess Bravin
May 17, 2011
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Tuesday capped the National Days of Remembrance, the congressionally mandated commemoration of the Holocaust, by focusing on a legal legacy stretching from the Nuremberg Tribunal to present-day efforts to hold war criminals accountable, such as the International Criminal Court.
"I come here as a judge and a Jew," Justice Breyer said at a Capitol ceremony sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Museum, in part to remember "that the Holocaust story ended with a fair trial."
Justice Breyer recalled that the late Justice Robert Jackson called his service as chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, which tried 24 surviving Nazi leaders for crimes against humanity, "infinitely more important than my work on the Supreme Court." Justice Jackson had opened his case by telling the world that "the wrongs we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated."
While Justice Jackson aimed to defuse Holocaust deniers by building a "drab case" on the Nazis' own records of their crimes, Israeli Attorney General Gideon Hausner "sought out survivors of the Holocaust to bear witness" in the 1961 trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann. With the trial televised internationally, "for the first time many people heard the Holocaust survivors tell their stories with their own voices."
"Both trials had a role to play," Justice Breyer said. "The documented record prevents history from doubting what was done; the compelling personal stories help prevent the future from forgetting the victims themselves, their stories and their humanity."
Justice Breyer linked those trials to more recent efforts to establish accountability for genocide and war crimes. He mentioned the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor this week said he would seek to try Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi for crimes against humanity.
Such institutions are "imperfect," the justice said. "We need only look around today's world to see that the rights, rules, and obligations that the law sets forth are no more powerful than the human will to enforce them.
"The Talmud teaches us 'it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work,'" Justice Breyer said. "'But neither are you free to evade it."
UN Human Rights Chief Pillay Criticizes U.S. on Guantanamo Bay
Bloomberg Businessweek
By Jennifer M. Freedman
May 18, 2011
President Barack Obama's failure to close Guantanamo Bay and his decision to try some prisoners in military courts are "extremely disappointing," said the United Nations' top human-rights official.
Obama has blamed congressional opposition for his failure to keep an election-campaign pledge to shut the detention facility within a year of taking office. Obama on March 7 approved a resumption of military trials for suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo.
"It's extremely disappointing that the U.S., with all the powers at its disposal, has not been able to close that prison and now, to our greater concern, is not even holding trials in civilian courts, but in military courts," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a May 11 interview in her lake-view office in Geneva.
The criticism from Pillay, who helped establish the rights of Nelson Mandela and other prisoners of South Africa's apartheid regime, is her sharpest since taking over as high commissioner in 2008 and came nine days after U.S. Navy SEALs killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Seven prisoners have died at Guantanamo, a facility the Obama administration says has become a recruiting tool used by terrorists.
The May 2 death of bin Laden hasn't changed Obama's plan to close Guantanamo, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week. Still, the prospects for closing Guantanamo are "very, very low given very broad opposition to doing that here in the Congress," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Service Committee on Feb. 17.
Of the 779 detainees taken to the prison following the 2001 ouster of the Taliban in Afghanistan, 600 have been transferred or released and 172 remain. At least four of those who died in custody committed suicide.
Conditions at Guantanamo, a naval base on U.S. territory in Cuba, were condemned by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which reported claims by detainees that they were denied medical care, confined in small boxes and physically and psychologically abused.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of al-Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks, is in the facility awaiting a military trial along with four of his alleged fellow plotters. Almost 3,000 people were killed when hijacked jets were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and, after a struggle with passengers, into a field in Pennsylvania.
"I'm very disappointed by reports that the administration appears to have abandoned its efforts to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo inmates on trial in civilian courts," said Pillay, 69, who served as judge on the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
The Pentagon's chief prosecutor for military commissions, Navy Captain John Murphy, said last month that his office would file charges against the five suspects "in the near future." He didn't say whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty.
Military tribunals have lower standards for conviction and grant suspects fewer civil rights than U.S. civilian courts, said Pillay, a lawyer who fought for the rights of prisoners on Robben Island, the jail that held Mandela. They "certainly don't fulfill the requirements of a fair trial," she said.
At least five Guantanamo detainees have been tried before military tribunals. Those have been marred by the use of evidence obtained by coercion, inconsistent application of ever- changing rules of evidence and inadequate defense resources, Human Rights Watch said last month.
"The continuation of U.S. policy of holding persons indefinitely without trial in Guantanamo and the use of ad hoc military tribunals overseen by military judges and lawyers is a stain on the country's human-rights record," Pillay said.
The Obama administration should also release details about bin Laden's death, following criticism from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, she said.
"I am not judging, but people have a right to know what happened," she said. "It's my job to put it out there, that there are international standards."
While terrorists typically must be treated as criminals and tried in civil courts, lethal force is permitted in exceptional cases, she said.
"This is an exceptional situation because he was, by his own admission, responsible for crimes which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people," Pillay said. "The facts are complex and there may be exceptions there, and the law itself is complex and may well provide scope for this kind of killing."
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