The transitional government in Somalia has agreed to allow the United Nations to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, disappearances, and illegal detentions, among other war crimes. The UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, said the Somali government did not accept allegations it was implicated in the atrocities, but said it would allow investigations […]
Opening statements will be heard in Miami today in the case involving Jose Padilla, a US citizen and former gang member who converted to Islam while in prison. Padilla, 36, has been accused of material support of a terrorist organization and conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas. Among the key documents expected to […]
Sat May 12, 2007 8:05PM EDT By Marty Graham CAMP PENDLETON, California (Reuters) – U.S. commanders rejected a local council's request for an investigation days after Marines in Iraq killed 24 civilians in the town of Haditha in November 2005, according to testimony on Saturday at a military tribunal. The councilors’ concerns were dismissed because […]
The Pentagon yesterday formally charged Salim Ahmed Hamdan for war crimes before a military commission at the naval detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Hamdan, who served as Usamma bin Laden's personal driver and bodyguard for more than five years, has been detained without charge since 2001. According to the charge sheet released by the […]
Testimonials for the Article 32 investigation into the November 2005 events in Haditha, Iraq unveiled grave degradations and dereliction of duty. Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz testified that he witnessed Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich kill five Iraqi's who were bound and detained following an IED encounter by the Marines of Kilo Company. Dela Cruz stated […]
Officials in Norway have arrested a 40-year old man for war crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. According to Norwegian police officials, the man is alleged to have committed rape, illegal detentions and "a series of cases of gross violence" against Bosnian Serbs. Norway does not have war crimes legislation, but is considering draft laws […]
Opening arguments in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor will take place on June 4. Taylor, who served as president from 1997 to 2003, is indicted on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, mass murder, rape, sexual slavery and the conscription of child soldiers. He is under prosecution by the Special […]
A joint report from The Center for the Defence of the Individual and B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, allege grave violations of international law occurred at the hands of the Israeli government. According to the report, Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, degrades Palestinian prisoners and prevents access to lawyers or International Committee of […]
New Tape: Al Qaeda No. 2 Wants 200,000-300,000 U.S. Dead in Iraq Ayman al-Zawahiri Says Al Qaeda Wants to Spill More U.S. Blood Before America Withdraws By BRIAN ROSS May 5, 2007 ‚ In a new video posted today on the Internet, al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al Zawahiri, mocks the bill passed by […]
The Hague tribunal for war crimes in Yugoslavia has turned two cases over to Croatian courts. Mirko Norac and Rahim Adema have been charged with commanding their forces to kill civilians and pillage villages during a UN brokered withdraw from southern Croatia in 1993. Norac, a former general in the Croatian army, is currently serving […]
The Nuremburg Defense was invoked to justify the Jewish Holocaust at the hands of Hitler's regime. In essence, this defense says that following orders from ones superiors absolves the accused of responsibility. The Nuremburg Tribunal deemed this inadequate defense, stating that the defense of superior orders does not trump morality. However, arguing on the behalf […]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first ever arrest warrants against officials allegedly involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. The arrest warrants were issued for humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmen Haround, and Janjaweed militia leader, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (a/k/a Ali Kushayb). As the former minister of the interior, the […]
The Supreme Court of the United States rejected the appeals of Salim Hamdan, Usamma bin Laden's driver and bodyguard, and Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with killing an American soldier in Afghanistan. The Hamdan case resulted in a landmark ruling that declared unconstitutional the former system to prosecute detainee's captured by the United States in […]
German courts have rejected charges against former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New York based non-profit legal organization, has accused Rumsfeld, as well as Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and former director of The Central Intelligence Agency George Tenet, of "torture and other war crimes committed in Iraq, Afghanistan, […]
