Sierra Leone jails militiamen: (Reuters) Three militiamen were sentenced to decades long prison sentences for human rights violations committed during the civil war that spanned from 1991 – 2002 in Sierra Leone. The U.N. backed Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted the men for “some of the most heinous, brutal and atrocious crimes ever recorded.” […]
On November 19, 2005, a Marine unit encountered a roadside bomb, killing one U.S. soldier. Following the event, Marine squads underwent a house to house search for insurgents. Instead, the Marines allegedly killed several Iraqi civilians, including woman and children – some of which were in their beds. Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum is undergoing […]
Kosovar Albanian charged in Serbia: (AP) Sinan Morina, an ethnic Albanian, was charged with “expulsion, imprisonment, torture, rape and killing of eight Serb civilians” by Serbian prosecutors in Belgrade today. Morina is alleged to have abducted the Serbian civilians from their village, executed them, and deposited their bodies in a cave. The victims were either […]
Japan is expected to ratify the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ratification with the United Nations coincides with World Justice Day, marking the anniversary of the opening of the Rome treaty on July 17, 1998. Japan will also become the Courts largest donor by contributing 19 percent of its annual […]
Serge Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor heading the UN investigation into political murders in Lebanon, released new information to the UN in his eighth report last week. Focusing on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, the report highlights the role of 22 individuals, cell phones used to track his movements, and possible motives […]
Warning: This post contains offensive language. Today marks the 12th anniversary of the massacre in Srebernica. In July 1995, in the United Nations mandated "safe area' of Srebrenica, Serbian forces summarily executed some 8,000 Bosnian men. The forces of the Army of Republika Srpska, led by General Ratko Mladic (still at large in Bosnia for […]
A family representing a human rights activist working in the Palestinian territories is seeking to pursue a case against Caterpillar for aiding and abetting human rights violations. In 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old peace activist, was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar as she tried to prevent the demolition of homes in the […]
General Rasim Delic faces prosecution for failing to halt mujahadeen fighters in the former Yugoslavia from beheading and gunning down captured Serbian and Croatian prisoners. Delic, one of the highest ranking Bosnian Muslim commanders to face prosecution at the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, is charged with murder, rape, and inhumane treatment. He is […]
Christian Von Wernich, a former police chaplain, went on trial for allegations of kidnapping, torture, and murder during Argentina's dirty war; an anti-insurgent campaign during 1976-1983 in which the Buenos Aries police force brutally countered leftists dissidents to the military dictatorship. Von Wernich, a Catholic priest, was accused of fostering the suppression campaign on behalf […]
Bernard Ntuyahaga, a former Rwandan army officer, was handed a 20 year sentence in a Belgium court for his involvement in the murder of 10 Belgian peacekeepers in 1994. He is also alleged to have been involved in the massacre of an unknown number of of Rwandan citizens. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda had […]
GAZA (Reuters) – Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist held hostage in Gaza, was freed early on Wednesday after a late-night deal between the ruling Hamas Islamists and the al Qaeda-inspired clan group that kidnapped him in March.
Carla del Ponte, the chief war crimes prosecutor for the U.N., said the fugitive Ratko Mladic is in Serbia. She said she has evidence that Mladic is on the move more than in the past due to government pressure for his arrest. Mladic is wanted for genocide from the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, where over […]
BBC: Liberia's former President Charles Taylor has appeared at his war crimes trial in The Hague for the first time. Wearing a blue suit and a yellow tie, Mr Taylor, 59, turned up after the judge had explained why his trial would again be delayed – until 20 August. The delay is to appoint a […]
As part of the path to close the naval detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, senior advisers to the Bush administration are exploring the legal options for the detention of foreign terrorist suspects in the U.S. civilian prison system. Officials are proposing legislation that would create three legal categories for the estimated 375 detainees; one […]
CROATIAN TRIAL DELAYED A decision by a U.N. war crimes tribunal delays the proceedings for three Croatian military and police officials on trial for atrocities. The appeals court for the U.N. system upheld the disqualification of the defendants lawyers for conflicts of interest. The defendants are alleged to have run a joint criminal operation with […]