Monthly News Updates: Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes - January 2021
By: Alexandrah Bakker, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
The following post highlights developments from around the world in the prosecution of international crimes before domestic jurisdictions. This month, states have not only continued to arrest and try defendants but have also taken steps to repair the harms caused by international crimes.
EUROPE
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Former Bosnian general sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for war crimes
A Sarajevo court sentenced Sakib Mahmuljin, a former general in the Bosnian army, to ten years’ imprisonment for failing to prevent the killing and torture of 50 ethnic Serb prisoners. Foreign fighters, known as “El Mujahid,” who fell under Mahmuljin’s command, were the ones who killed the prisoners. [January 22, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian Constitutional Court rejects appeal against war crimes conviction
Tarik Sisic, a former Bosnian soldier sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for war crimes, had appealed his conviction, alleging a violation of his right to a fair trial. The Bosnian Constitutional Court found that the conviction did not violate Sisic’s rights. [January 14, 2021]
Finland | Finnish National Bureau of Investigation concludes investigation into suspect for crimes committed during Liberian civil war
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation concluded its investigation into a Sierra Leone national for crimes committed during the Liberian civil war. The authorities classified the crimes as murder, aggravated warfare crimes, and aggravated human rights violations against civilians in a state of emergency. The trial is set to open before the Pirkanmaa District Court on February 1, 2021. [January 13, 2021]
France | French authorities open an investigation into crimes against humanity against suspect from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
French prosecutors opened an investigation into Roger Lumbala, who is accused of complicity in the crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2002 and 2003. Lumbala is the first suspect to be arrested following the publication of a Mapping Report in 2010 identifying serious human rights violations committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1993 and 2003. [January 8, 2021]
AFRICA
South Sudan | South Sudanese court convicts soldiers of wartime rape for the first time
A South Sudanese court convicted 26 soldiers of crimes including wartime rape, a first for South Sudan. An army representative apologized and affirmed the army’s intention to arrest future perpetrators. [January 15, 2021]
AUSTRALIA
Australia | Australia launches criminal investigation into possible war crimes
The Office of the Special Investigator, established to conduct criminal investigations into the incidents of war crimes identified in the Brereton report released in November 2020, began its operations on January 4, 2021. The Office will examine the evidence unearthed in the previous administrative inquiries and will decide whether to refer cases to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. [January 4, 2021]
ASIA
South Korea | South Korean court orders Japan to pay compensation to so-called “comfort women”
The Seoul Central District Court ordered Japan to pay 12 women $91,000 each as compensation for the harm they suffered while being kept as sex slaves by Japanese armed forces during World War II. [January 8, 2021]