Monthly News Updates: Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes - July 2021
By: Alexandrah Bakker, Research Associate, PILPG-NL
The following post highlights developments from around the world in the domestic prosecution of international crimes. This month saw developments at all stages of criminal proceedings, including the filing of criminal complaints, the strengthening of national legislation, and steps towards long-awaited convictions.
EUROPE
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Top Bosnian official implements ban on genocide denial
Valentin Inzko, High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, used his power to modify the state’s criminal code by imposing a ban on genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals. [July 23, 2021]
Germany | Hamburg court sentences woman to extra jail time for use of Yazidi slaves
A Hamburg court has sentenced a German woman, who was already serving a sentence for membership of ISIS, to an extra six months’ imprisonment for the use of Yazidi slaves to clean her home in Syria. [July 22, 2021]
The Netherlands | The Hague District Court convicts Syrian man of war crime
The District Court of The Hague convicted Ahmad Al K., a Syrian citizen, of a war crime for his involvement in the execution of a Syrian military officer being held as a prisoner of war. The Court sentenced Al K. to 20 years’ imprisonment. [July 16, 2021]
Kosovo | Pristina Basic Court issues first-ever conflict-related sexual violence conviction
The Pristina Basic Court convicted a former Serb policeman of rape and of the expulsion of Albanians during the conflict in 1999. The decision marks the first time a Kosovar court has convicted a suspect of sexual violence in relation to the conflict. [July 5, 2021]
France | Magistrates open investigation into fashion groups for complicity in crimes against humanity
French magistrates have opened an inquiry into four major multinational companies for complicity in crimes against humanity. The investigation is a response to a criminal complaint alleging that these companies profited from the forced labor of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region of China. [July 1, 2021]
The Netherlands | The Hague District Court convicts Dutch woman of war crimes
The District Court of The Hague convicted a Dutch woman of the war crime of outrage upon the personal dignity of deceased persons, as well as incitement to commit war crimes for sharing and commenting on videos depicting the execution of prisoners of war. In the same judgment, the Court officially designated ISIS as a criminal organization with the purpose to commit war crimes. [June 29, 2021]
ASIA
The Philippines | Supreme Court rules that International Criminal Court has jurisdiction
The Supreme Court of the Philippines has ruled that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the alleged crimes of government actors during President Duterte’s “War on Drugs.” The Supreme Court held that, despite statements to the contrary by the executive, the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed prior to the state’s withdrawal from the Court in 2019. Ultimately, however, it is for the ICC itself, and not a domestic court, to determine its own jurisdiction. [July 21, 2021]
THE AMERICAS
Colombia | Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace makes “false positive” accusations
The Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), in two separate decisions, has accused 25 military officials of the murder of 247 civilians. The murders are allegedly part of what is known as the “false positive” scandal, whereby the military falsely presented dead civilians as rebels killed in combat. [July 20, 2021]
AFRICA
The Gambia | High Court of Banjul sentences former minister to death
The High Court of Banjul convicted former minister Yankuba Touray of murder and sentenced him to death. In an earlier stage of Touray’s case, the Supreme Court of the Gambia decided that, despite a constitutional provision providing amnesty to members of the former junta, there would be no immunity from prosecution for violations of non-derogable human rights. Touray’s conviction comes as the Gambia’s Truth, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission prepares to publish its report and to make recommendations for the prosecution of other alleged perpetrators of the junta. [July 14, 2021]