Monthly News Updates: Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes – December 2021
By: Pauline Pfaff, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
During the final month of 2021, new arrests and trials occurred in several domestic jurisdictions in relation to war crimes and other international crimes. This post provides an overview of the key developments in December.
EUROPE
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Prosecutor files indictment against two individuals for war crimes in Gorazde area in 1992
The Bosnia-Herzegovinian state prosecution indicted two former members of the Bosnian Serb Army, Branislav Lasica, and Miroslav Milovic, for war crimes, incitement of genocide, and crimes against humanity. The underlying acts occurred in 1992. [December 30, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian war crimes prosecutor indicts nine individuals for the murder of 100 Muslim Bosniaks during the 1992-1995 war
The Bosnian war crimes prosecutor announced the indictment of nine unnamed individuals for the killing of approximately 100 Bosniak civilians in the Nevesinje area during the summer of 1992. Among the victims were women, children, and elderly people belonging to seven different families. The authorities recovered the remains of 49 individuals, while 47 remain unaccounted for. [December 29, 2021]
France | French police detains individual suspected of supplying components to manufacture chemical weapons to Syria
The French police detained a French-Syrian national under suspicion of conspiracy and accessory to crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria. The alleged crimes occurred between March 2011 and January 2018. [December 27, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Prosecution re-files indictment against Milenko Stanic for crimes against humanity in Vlasenica area 1992-1993
The state prosecution re-filed the indictment against Milenko Stanic following the state court’s rejection of the first indictment in November 2021. Stanic allegedly committed crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, and murder, in the Vlasenica area between April 1992 and March 1993 as part of a joint criminal enterprise. [December 27, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Trial of former Bosnian Serb policeman opens for killings in Bosanska Krupa area in 1992
The Bosnian state court commenced the trial of Dusan Culibrk, a former policeman. He allegedly took part in killing approximately 50 Bosniak and Croat civilians in the Bosanska Krupa municipality in 1992. [December 22, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Constitutional Court rejects appeal by former Serb fighter against his conviction
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rejected Radomir Šušnjar’s appeal against his conviction and sentence to 20 years’ imprisonment. Šušnjar is a 66 year-old former Serb fighter who, together with two other individuals, detained and later killed 26 unarmed Bosniak civilians during the Pionirska Street incident in Visegrad on June 14, 1992. [December 20, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian State Court confirms charges against former police chief
The Bosnia-Herzegovinian state court affirmed the indictment against former police chief Nedjeljko Popovic, for crimes committed by his subordinates against Bosniak and Croat civilians during the war in 1992. The alleged acts took place in Mrkonjic Grad and included unlawful detention, torture, and murder. [December 20, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Police arrests eight individuals suspected of war crimes during the 1992-1995 conflict
The Bosnian police arrested eight former members of the Bosnian Serb Army based on war crimes allegations. The unnamed individuals allegedly participated in the killing of around 100 Bosniaks in the region of Nevesinje in 1992 and face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. [December 16, 2021]
France | French Court sentences former Rwandan hotel driver to 14 years’ imprisonment for complicity in genocide
A French court found Claude Muhayiama, a French citizen of Rwandan origin, guilty of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The court sentenced Muhayiama to 14 years’ imprisonment. [December 16, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | State Prosecutor files indictment against two individuals for crimes against humanity committed in the Visegrad area between 1992 and 1993
The State Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina charged Milomir Djuricic (“Djure”) and Vikandin Spasojevic (“Mico” or “Era”) with persecution on national, ethnic, and religious grounds as crimes against humanity. Both individuals are former members of the Visegradska Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army. The alleged crimes occurred in the Visegrad area between May 1992 and September 1993. [December 9, 2021]
The Netherlands | Court rules that Israeli Defence Minister enjoys immunity
A Dutch appeals court upheld a first instance decision from January 2020 and affirmed that Benny Gantz, the Israeli Defence Minister, has functional immunity from civil proceedings in the Netherlands. The ruling is connected to a case pertaining to an airstrike in Gaza in 2014 that killed six family members of the claimant Ismail Ziada, a Dutch national of Palestinian origin. [December 6, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Appeals Chamber upholds sentence against former Bosnian Serb policeman for crimes against humanity
The appeals chamber of the Bosnian state court confirmed the first-instance verdict sentencing Simo Stupar to 12 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Stupar is a former reservist policeman who took part in the illegal detention, beating, and killing of Bosniaks in Vlasenica in 1992. [December 2, 2021]
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Retrial of ‘El Mujahideen’ fighters commences
The appeals chamber of the Bosnian state court opened the retrial of Sakib Mahmuljin after overturning the first-instance verdict sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Mahmuljin is the former commander of the Bosnian Army’s Third Corps. The so-called El Mujahideen unit formed by Islamic volunteer fighters operated as part of the Bosnian Army’s Third Corps during the Bosnian War. Mahmuljin allegedly failed to stop members of the El Mujahideen from torturing and killing Bosnian Serb prisoners. [December 1, 2021]
AFRICA
Burundi | Truth and Reconciliation Commission classifies 1972 killings against Hutus as genocide
The Burundian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) declared the 1972 massacre of ethnic Hutus a genocide. The attacks led to the death of between 100,000 and 300,000 individuals. The Burundian government set up the TRC in 2014 and tasked it with investigating violent ethnic clashes following the country’s independence in 1962. [December 20, 2021]
Central African Republic | First trial at Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court commences
The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic announced the commencement of its first trial. The defendants are Issa Sallet Adoum, Ousman Yaouba, and Tahir Mahamat. The three suspects were allegedly involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Koundjili and Lemouna in May 2019. [December 17, 2021]
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2018 Yumbi massacre tribunal starts work
In 2015, armed men killed more than 500 people during the so-called Yumbi massacre. In 2021, the Democratic Republic of the Congo government set up a military tribunal to investigate the causes of the massacre. Observers have raised concerns regarding the politicization of the trial. [December 17, 2021]
THE AMERICAS
Colombia | Twenty-two individuals admit participation in so-called ‘false positive’ killings
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace tribunal stated that 21 former members of the Colombian military and one civilian accepted responsibility for the forced disappearance and subsequent killing of over 227 individuals between 2002 and 2008. [December 12, 2021]
Peru | Peruvian judge initiates criminal proceedings against former President Fujimori for crimes against humanity
Peruvian judge Rafael Martínes opened investigations into former President Fujimori and three of his former health ministers, Yong Motta, Marino Costa Bauer, and Alejandro Aguinaga, based on allegations of enforced sterilization. Potential charges could amount to crimes against humanity. Fujimori was the president of Peru between 1990 and 2000. [December 11, 2021]
United States of America/United Kingdom | Victims of genocide against Rohingya sue Facebook for failure to prevent incitement of violence
Victims of the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar filed lawsuits against Facebook for negligence in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is alleged that the social media network’s failure to take down hate speech posts led to increased violence against the minority group. In total, Facebook faces compensation claims of more than £150 billion. [December 6, 2021]
ASIA
Cambodia | The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia drops charges against former Khmer Rouge commander
The prosecution charged former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth with genocide against the ethnic Vietnamese minority in Cambodia, as well as torture, murder, and crimes against humanity in 2015. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has now dropped the case based on “the absence of a definitive and enforceable indictment.”[December 17, 2021]