This month

1. Domestic jurisdictions
2. International courts
3. Situations

Domestic prosecutions

Belgium

Early October, Belgian authorties apprehended a total of three genocide suspects were arrested for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Bosnia

In Bosnia, two suspects were arrested for taking part in the killing of some 78 civilians during the 1992-1995 Yugoslav war. More precise, the events occured in June 1992 in the village Velagici. Bosnian serbs slaughtered imprisoned Bosniak civilians outside the school building with automatic weapons. The victims’ bodies were later driven away in trucks and dumped in a mass grave that was exhumed in 1996.

Croatia

Croatian authorities also arrested two suspects for crimes committed during the Yugoslv war. The former serb paramilitaries are held accountable for committing crimes against prisoners of war at Ovcara Farm, where Croats were abused and killed after the fall of the town of Vukovar in 1991.

Germany

A bride of an Islamique State fighter was convicted to 3,5 years in prison in Germany. She was found guilty of membership of a terrorist organisation and for being guilty for aiding and abetting slavery.

The Netherlands

On 26 October 2020 the Dutch authorities arrested a 71 years old Rwandan genocide suspect. The man is sought by Rwanda for his involvement for orchestrating the killing of tutsi’s and for active involvement in the MDR-power faction. According to several sources, the man was first given asylum in The Netherlands, but lateron his refugee status was withdrawn after an investigation of the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs.

International courts

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

• On 8 October 2020 the evidentary proceedings were concluded in the trial of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović. This is the first retrial held before the IRMCT. On 30 May 2013 they were found not guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). They were both acquitted of all charges. Following the appeals proceedings, on 15 December 2015, the ICTY Appeals Chamber quashed the decision and ordered a retrial and the immediate detention of the accused.
• On 22 October 2020 the trial against Turinabo et al has started. In this case a total of 6 suspects are held responsible for contempt of court and incitement to commit contempt.
• On 26 October 2020 the French authorities transferred Félicien Kabuga to The Hague. As a fugtive oof justice to the former International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, he is now to to stand trial for the residual mechanism.

Situations

Alexei Navalny

On 6 October 2020, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) produced its report on the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny which took place on 20 August 2020. Germany has asked the OPCW to provide technical assistance. The results confirm that prohibited chemicals were used against Navalny. Germany has requested that the finding be shared with all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and make it publicly available.

“States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention have declared the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances as reprehensible and wholly contrary to the legal norms established by the international community.” 

Central African Republic

Amnesty International has released the report “On Trial These Warlords lowered their eyes” on the challeging pursuit of justice in the Central African Republic. It provides context, insights on the functioning of the Special Criminal Court, ordinary tribunals and the role of partners. The report concludes with conclusions and recommendations.

China – Uyghurs

On 6 October 2020, a total of 39 United Nations members published a joint statement against China’s practices. This, inspite of China’s threats of political and economic consequences. The nations endorse a recent call of 50 human rights experts to establish a mechanism to monitor human rights in China, while they urged China to provide the UN access to investigate the situation in Xinjiang. China is believed to have detained over a million Uyghurs in so-called re-education camps which function as de facto concentration camps where this minority group is deprived from its cultural & religious habits.

“We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong. We call upon China to respect human rights”

The World Uyghur Congress has established an Uyghur Tribunal, an independent People’s Tribunal set up to provide an objective judgment on whether China is committing crimes against humanity and/or genocide against the Uyghurs and other Muslims. The commission of Genocide against the Uyghurs by the People’s Republic of China has been alleged but never properly explored on evidence. The Uyghur Tribunal will start without assumption or presumption of any kind, review evidence, consider all available arguments and reach a judgment. Depending on the judgment, the Tribunal could pressure states, individuals and international organisations to consider how they interact with the People’s Republic of China, as well as potentially giving alleged victims some sense of peace.

The Tribunal is run by independent individuals with significant expertise and experience in their respective fields. They don’t represent states or international organisations; their job is to act on behalf of the people.

“If states won’t, we have to impartially investigate china’s alleged treatment of the Uyghurs”

According to the initiators, the world is failing to impartially investigate a state accused of forced sterilisation, rape, organ harvesting, enslavement and apartheid. Allegations that the People’s Republic of China has been committing crimes against humanity and/or genocide against the Uyghurs have not been addressed by any international court. They furthermore state that they rely on a framework of international legal mechanisms to protect their human rights and that too often states have been unable or unwilling to utilise existing mechanisms to properly investigate allegations against the PRC. This not only undermines the foundations of International Law, but has serious implications for all of our rights as human beings. It is essential that these allegations are fairly assessed.

Syria’s use of chemical weapons

Three human rights organisations have filed a complaint in Germany asking authorities to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria by government forces, which killed hundreds of civilians. The complaint is based on both witness statements of survivors and on statements by defectors from the regime with inside information on the regime’s responsibility for the use of chemical weapons. With the claim, the organisations try to activate “universal jurisdiction”, which allows Germany to prosecute people for crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Previously Germany issued an international arrest warrant for the head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.