Raghavi Viswanath & Erez Roman - Junior Research Associates - Public international law and policy group - Netherlands office
Monthly News Updates: Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes - December 2019
December 2019 was rather successful for universal jurisdiction, with a Belgian court issuing its first conviction for genocide and Uganda issuing an arrest warrant against former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. This post provides an overview of similar developments in domestic prosecutions of international crimes.
EUROPE
The Netherlands | Appeals court convicts ex-Iraqi High Tribunal judge
The Hague Appeals Court convicted ex-Iraqi High Tribunal Judge (Mr. “A. K.”) to 66 months imprisonment for issuing a false international arrest warrant. The warrant, issued against his son in law and brother, alleged a murder and/or genocide in Iraq. [December.18, 2019].
Belgium | Former Rwandan civil servant convicted of genocide
Fabien Neretse, a former Rwandan senior civil servant, was found guilty of genocide by a Belgian court. The septuagenarian was found guilty of the war crime of killing at least eleven people in Rwanda in 1994. He was also found guilty of committing genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda, a first for Belgian courts. He received 25 years in prison. [December 20, 2019].
United Kingdom | Judge Dismisses Torture Charges Against Charles Taylor's Ex-wife
Agnes Taylor, the ex-wife of the jailed former Liberian president Charles Taylor, is to be freed from prison after an Old Bailey judge dismissed a series of torture charges against her. The prosecution, which related to offences allegedly committed during the west African state’s civil war in 1990, had been repeatedly delayed following several years of legal argument that eventually reached the UK’s supreme court. [December 6, 2019]
France | Genocide: French Justice Launched New Investigations on 12 Rwandans
France has launched new investigations against 12 Rwandan genocide suspects. The "crimes against humanity" section of the national prosecutor's office opened these investigations against individuals whom France refused to extradite to Rwanda. [December 6, 2019].
Bosnia and Herzegovina | One person accused of crimes against humanity during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed, on November 28, 2019, an indictment in the case of Malko Koroman, charging the accused Malko Koroman with the commission of the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1) h) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH), as read with Article 180 (1) of the CC BiH. [December. 6, 2019].
LATIN AMERICA
Guatemala | Guatemala to Try More Former Top Military Officials for Maya Genocide
Guatemala’s human rights prosecutor indicted another former top military official for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the bloodiest phase of the Central American country’s 36-year civil war. A military operations chief under deceased Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt, Luis Enrique Mendoza Garcia will be tried in March for his role in an operation in the early 1980s that killed at least 1,771 Maya Ixil and displaced thousands. [November 29, 2019].
AFRICA
Uganda | Ugandan court issues arrest warrant against Bashir
The High Court of Uganda issued an arrest warrant against former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The High Court also faulted Uganda for failing to arrest Bashir while in Uganda in 2016 and 2017 on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. [December 19, 2019].
Democratic Republic of Congo | Court sentences FADRC colonel to five years for crimes against humanity
A Congolese court sentenced a former FADRC military colonel Safari Kateatea Amos to 5 years in prison for crimes against humanity. The Court established the murder, rape, torture and other inhumane acts committed by the battalion under his command. His responsibility as a superior was recognized, but not his direct involvement in the commission of the crimes. [December19, 2019].