Foreign Policy Blogs

War Crimes

Allegations against U.S. military mount in Iraq

Two U.S. soldiers were charged with premeditated murder in two separate incidents.  On Saturday, the U.S. military cited Staff Sergeant  Michael Hensley and Specialist Jorge Sandoval  were charged with murder and wrongfully placing weapons with the remains of the deceased.  Hensley is charged with three counts of murder, while Sandoval faces one conviction.  The charges […]

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Supreme Court reverses; opts to hear GITMO cases: Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court said on Friday it would hear appeals by Guantanamo prisoners on their right to challenge their confinement before federal judges, a test of President George W. Bush's powers in the war on terrorism. The court in April had denied the same appeals by the prisoners, but the justices in […]

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Death toll from Bosnian war announced.

An independent commission has reached an official death toll from the Bosnian war in the 1990's.  The study from the Norwegian Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo – called the “The Bosnian Book of the Dead”  – has reached a figure of 97, 207, far less than United Nations estimates.  UN estimates cite a figure […]

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Iraqi tribunal to investigate Shi'ite massacres.

The tribunal established to investigate allegations of war crimes for members of Saddam Hussein's former regime has stated it will begin prosecuting individuals accused of launching a campaign against a Shi’ite uprising following the liberation of Kuwait in 1991.  Following the defeat of Iraq in the first Gulf War, Shi’ites in southern Iraq and Kurds […]

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UN prosecutor demands Serbia hand over war crimes suspects.

The chief war crimes prosecutor for the United Nations, Carla del Ponte, said that the European Union should not proceed on negotiations with Serbia until all war crimes suspects have been arrested.  Del Ponte has stated that, despite positive assessments by the EU, Serbia should not be perceived as meeting its full obligations to join […]

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"That's enough", new French premier says at Darfur conference

Five weeks into his presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy – the new French premier – hosted an international conference on Darfur in Paris.  Among those in attendance was U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleeeza Rice, who spoke of the need for a renewed effort at the crisis in the troubled region in Sudan and its regional effects.  The […]

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Taylor skips trial; Alan Johnston appears in new video

Charles Taylor once again boycotted his trial at The Hague today.  He is claiming that he is not given fair representation for his trial after sacking his legal consul, claiming he was ‘outgunned’ by the prosecution.  He is charged with 11 counts of war crimes for atrocities committed during the civil conflict in Sierra Leone […]

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"Chemical Ali" sentenced to hang.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as “Chemical Ali”, was sentenced to death by hanging on Sunday for masterminding genocide against Iraq's Kurds in the 1980s, an Iraqi court said.

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U.S. arrests Rwandan genocide suspect in Philadelphia.

U.S. arrests Rwandan genocide suspect in Philadelphia.

Isaac Kamali, a former senior member of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) in Rwanda, was arrested trying to enter the United States. Kamali, who was detained in Philadelphia, is suspected of participating in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda where roughly a half-million Tutsi minorities were slaughtered. Interpol had issued a Red […]

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UN extends investigations into Lebanese assassinations

UN extends investigations into Lebanese assassinations

The United Nations Security Council approved an international independent investigation into the assassination of Walid Eido, an anti-Syrian lawmaker, in Lebanon.  Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora requested the UN's International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) to assist Lebanese officials into the investigation of Eido's murder.  Security Council President, Ambassador Johan C. Verbeke of Belgium, stated in […]

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Sierra Leone court to hand down first war crimes verdict.

Sierra Leone court to hand down first war crimes verdict.

UPDATE: As expected,  charges were handed down to the defendants for 11 of the 14 counts today. BBC has more here. The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is expected to hand down its first convictions for war crimes today. Three former militia leaders are to be convicted on a 14-count indictment for crimes against […]

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Agent Orange case in US appeals court

Agent Orange case in US appeals court

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals yesterday heard a class action claim against 37 producers and suppliers of the chemical herbicide, dioxin, which was used as a component in the defoliant, Agent Orange. Agent Orange, so named for the markings on its shipping containers, was used as a defoliant to destroy cover by communist forces […]

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Generals face war crimes charges in Croatian court

Generals face war crimes charges in Croatian court

A Croatian district court today opened the trial of two suspected war criminals in the first case transferred from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to a domestic court system. Mirko Norac and Rahim Ademi, two Croation army generals, face war crimes charges for atrocities allegedly committed during a land seizure campaign […]

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Vlastimir Djordjevic, Serbian war criminal, arrested

BBC: Montenegro has arrested a former Serbian security chief accused by the UN war crimes tribunal of ordering the killing of Kosovo Albanians. Vlastimir Djordjevic is due to be transferred to The Hague where he is one of four Serbian generals accused of crimes in the breakaway province. The arrest may mark another step by […]

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Ex U.N. chief, suspected Nazi, Waldheim dies at 88.

Ex U.N. chief, suspected Nazi, Waldheim dies at 88.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim died yesterday of heart failure.  Waldheim served at the head of the world body from 1972-1981 and later held the largely ceremonial presidency of Austria from 1986-1992.  His tenure was tarnished by his service in German high command during World War II.  In response, the U.S. Justice Department placed […]

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