The defense rested yesterday in the case of Jose Padilla and two other co-defendants in a Miami District Court without calling any witnesses or presenting no evidence. The trial testimony centered mostly on Padilla's co-defendants, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, who are accused of being part of and supporting terrorist groups, such as […]
CORRECTION: The following report indicates the Canadian Supreme Court made the ruling entailed here. That is incorrect. The British Columbia Supreme Court made the initial ruling, the Canadian Supreme Court may hear appeals. The Canadian Supreme Court upheld an extradition against a convicted Nazi war criminal to Italy. Michael Seifert, the 83-year old “Beast of […]
The Bush administration was persuaded to withdraw its nomination of Richard Hoagland as the U.S. ambassador to Armenia. Senator Robert Menendez, the democratic senator for New Jersey, blocked Mr. Hoaglands nomination from proceeding to a confirmation hearing because of his refusal to recognize the World War I massacre of Armenians as genocide. In comments, Menendez […]
An appeals court in France has ordered the release of two Rwandan men suspected of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, a Roman Catholic priest, and Laurent Bucyibaruta, a former Rwandan civil servant, were detained in France on July 20 after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued arrest warrants for the […]
The U.N. backed Special Court for the Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted two militia leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Allieu Kondewa – the “high priest” of the Kamajor rebel group – and Monina Fofana – the national director of the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) – were convicted of war crimes, including murder and […]
The United Nations Security Council approved a Chapter 7 resolution to invoke a 26,000 member peacekeeping force in Sudan. The joint African Union (A.U.) -United Nations contingent will consist of nearly 20,000 military personnel and close to 6,500 civilian police to replace the battered 7,000 member A.U. force deployed in Darfur. A Chapter 7 resolution […]
The first suspect appeared before the U.N. backed Cambodian genocide tribunal to investigate former members of the Khmer Rouge. Kaing Khek lev, better known as Duch, was questioned for his role as the former prison warden in the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh. The prison was notorious for being used as a torture chamber, where […]
U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, made pleas for Serbian cooperation as Kosovo continues its campaign towards independence. Serbian officials were in Washington, where Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with Rice to discuss “outstanding obligations regarding war crimes indictees.” There are several war crimes suspects still alleged to be within Serbia's reach – […]
The United Nations has initiated a forensic examination into mass graves peppered throughout Afghanistan at the request of the government there. Some graves in eastern Afghanistan contain over 1,200 victims. Specialists from various human rights groups, including the Washington based Physicians for Human Rights, have been providing technical assistance to the U.N. Assistance Mission in […]
The Rwandan government has asked France for the extradition of two men arrested last week for their alleged involvement in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, a Catholic priest, and Laurent Bucyibaruta, an ex-civil servant, were detained in France after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued warrants for their arrest. The two […]
Rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) called on the United Nations to investigate the ruling Ethiopian administration for violations of crimes against humanity. The ONLF opposition group won several seats in the Ethiopian parliamentary in 2005 in an attempt to topple the regime of Prime Minister Meles Senawi. The ONLF are warning of […]
Regarding the war in Iraq, the U.S. military has prosecuted more than 200 cases against its own personnel for crimes against humanity and the violations of the laws of war, including murder, rape, and kidnapping. Christian conservative groups, in coordination with some veterans associations, have established a grass-roots funding campaign to defend the accused and […]
Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, has concluded that Darfur is now safe and secure and that “people are leading a normal daily life.” The comments came after the president embarked on a three-day tour across the Darfur region, which is roughly the size of France. Al-Bashir returned from the trip noting reconstruction projects such […]
PARIS (Reuters) – Police said they had arrested two Rwandans living in exile in France who are wanted by an international court trying suspects in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Cleric Wenceslas Munyeshyaka was detained in Gisors, some 60 km (38 miles) northwest of Paris, where he has been living since 2001. Munyeshyaka, formerly head of the […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President George W. Bush, under fire over the treatment of terrorism suspects, has issued new rules to ensure that detention and interrogation by the CIA comply with the Geneva Conventions’ ban on torture. An executive order from Bush set out how to deal with detainees and gives interrogators from the U.S. […]