FREDERICK K. COX INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER Founder/Advisor Michael P. Scharf

Editor in Chief Peter Beardsley Managing Editors Emily Gibbons Madeline Jack Senior Technical Editor Morgan Kearse

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.

Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

Contents

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Central African Republic & Uganda

• All Africa: CAR Government Steps Down As Part of Peace Deal
• International Justice Monitor: Judge Orders Prosecutor to Provide Details of Payments to Witnesses in Bemba Trial

Libya

• Press TV: Libya can try ex-Gaddafi spy chief: ICC
• International Criminal Court: Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, in Relation to the Escalating Violence in the Situation in Libya

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

• International Center for Transitional Justice: Beyond Consultations – Reparative Justice in Cote d’Ivoire Must Respond to Victims’ Needs
• Hirondelle News Agency: Gbagbo Plans to Appeal Confirmation of Charges, Rwandan Ex-Senator’s Judgment Postponed
• AlJazeera: Ivory Coast Struggles with Reconciliation

AFRICA

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

• Global Post via Xinghua News Agency: U.S. to Join Manhunt of Rwandan Genocide Suspects
• All Africa: U.S. in Renewed Bid for Arrest of Kabuga, Eight Others

EUROPE

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber

• Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Accused in Edhem Godinjak et al. Pled Not Guilty
• Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Indictment Confirmed in the Case v. Marijan Brnjić et al.
• Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Indictment Confirmed in the Case v. Blagoja Vlačić
• Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Custody of Blagoja Vlačić Terminated and Prohibiting Measures Ordered
• Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Execution of Prison Sentence in the Case v. Šefik Alić Suspended

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

• Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Ex-Bosnian Serb Officer: Sarajevo Civilians Not Targeted

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

• The Phnom Penh Post: KRT’s Second Sub-trial to Begin
• Khmer Times: Khmer Rouge Lawyers Call for Government Officials to Testify
• Al Jazeera: UN Paves Way for Khmer Rouge Genocide Trial
• The Diplomat: Pol Pot’s Chief Henchmen Face Genocide Charges
• Shanghai Daily: UN-backed Cambodian Tribunal Ready to Pronounce Verdict for 2 Top Khmer Rouge Leaders
• The New York Times: 2 Khmer Rouge Leaders are Convicted in Cambodia

Iraqi High Tribunal

Syria

• BBC News: UN ‘May Include’ Isis on Syrian War Crimes List
• Wall Street Journal: Syrian Defector’s Photos Could Trigger War-Crimes Charges

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

• The Daily Star: Tribunal Drops Charges Against New TV, but Not Editor

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

• The Daily Star: Trial at Closing Stage
• The Daily Star: War Crimes Links of Qaisar Proved
• The Daily Star: Subhan Linked to Mass Killing

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

United States

• The Washington Post: Obama Announces Expanded Sanctions Against Russia as E.U. Aligns
• Politico: Judge: ‘Apparent’ Duty to Release Guantánamo Prisoners at Afghanistan War’s End
• Reuters: U.S. Military Team in Ukraine to Help Airliner Crash Probe
• The New York Times: Secret Papers Describe Size of Terror Lists Kept by U.S.
• The Washington Post:Al-Qaeda Offshoot Islamic State Expands its Reach into Lebanon as Tensions Rise
• The Washington Post: In Nigeria, Campaign Against Boko Haram Militants Brings Fears of Military Excesses

South & Central America

Argentina

• AP: DNA Test Ends a Mystery of Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’

Colombia

• Colombia Reports: Military Victims in FARC War Crimes Seek Representation in Colombia Peace Talks
• Colombia Reports: Colombian Soldier Dies of Poisoning, 6 Hospitalized in Suspected ELN Attack
• Reuters: Colombia Court Bars Rebels Guilty of War Crimes from Public Office

Guatemala

• Tico Times: Guatemalans Bury Victims of 1982 Civil War Massacre

TOPICS

Terrorism

• The Seattle Times: Kent Woman Released Before Trial on Terrorism Charges
• Bloomberg: Boston Bomb Suspect’s Friend Convicted of Obstruction
• Times of India: Australia Issues Arrest Warrants over Syria Severed Head Photos

Piracy

• The Christian Science Monitor : Captain Phillips Strikes Back: Off Horn of Africa, Pirates Go Bye-Bye
• Middle East North Africa Financial Network: UK Destroyer Joins Multinational Counter-Piracy Mission

• Channel News Asia: Pirates Attack Malaysian Tanker in South China Sea

• The Nation: Piracy in Southeast Asia – The Current Situation

Gender-Based Violence

• The Daily Mail: Doctor and Second Man Accused of Being Involved in Female Genital Mutilation Plead Not Guilty as They Appear in Court
• Reuters: Court Ruling Attacks Guatemala For Failure to Tackle Crimes Against Women
• Nehanda Radio: Kereke Appeals Against Rape Prosecution
• India West: Amnesty Urges India Not to Amend Juvenile Act to Fight Rape

REPORTS

UN Reports

• Business Standard: ISIS May be Added to UN War Crimes List
• UN News Centre: Eastern Ukraine: UN Rights Chief Says Downing of Plane May Be ‘War Crime,’ Urges Probe
• BBC News: Downing of MH17 Jet in Ukraine ‘May Be War Crime’ – UN
• Amnesty International: Israel/Gaza: Attack on UN School in Gaza a Potential War Crime that Must be Investigated

• The Washington Times: U.N. Condemns Israel, U.S. for Not Sharing Iron Dome with Hamas

• The Daily Star: Palestine Seeks ICC War Crimes Case vs Israel

Asylum

• The Guardian: Tamil Asylum Seekers Moved to Nauru
• Reuters: Ecuador: U.N. Says Sri Lanka Illegally Returning Pakistani Asylum Seekers
• The Huffington Post: Libya: What Would Jesus Say?
• Pughkeepsie Journal: Froma Harrop: Lack of control sparks immigration fears
• New York Law Journal: Refugee From Nepal Given Second Chance to Seek Asylum

REPORTS

UN Reports

• The New Indian Express: Sri Lanka Probe has Started, Claims UN
• Today’s Zaman: UN Warns of War Crimes as ISIL Allegedly Executes 1,700
• Zee News: Sri Lanka Parliament Rejects UN War Probe
• Associated Press: UN Fails to Bring Sudan’s Leader to Justice: International Criminal Court
• The Voice of Russia: UN Places Blame on Ukraine’s Gov’t for War Crimes
• Global Post: UN Chief Demands Arms Embargo on Syria

NGO Reports

• Amnesty International: Serbia: Ending Impunity for Crimes Under International Law

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS

Nepal

• The Himalayan: Malla’s Status Delays TRC Panel’s Progress
• IRIN: Little Hope of Justice for Nepal’s War-Time Rape Survivors

Kenya

• All Africa: TJRC Report Back in the Spotlight After Coast Violence

South Africa

• The New Age: Release Dekock and Hani Killers: TRC’s Boraine

Sri Lanka

• ColomboPage: OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka Will Continue to Seek Engagement with the Government

COMMENTARY AND PERSPECTIVES

• Justice in Conflict: In Palestine, R2P Isn’t Dead. It Could Never Have Existed
• Justice in Conflict: Gaza and Israel – A Case for International Humanitarian Law, Not R2P
• Justice in Conflict: R2P Isn’t a Useful Framework for Gaza – Or Anything
• Justice in Conflict: Both Israel and Hamas have a Responsibility to Protect Civilians
• Opinio Juris: Can Israel Cut Off Water and Power to Gaza?
• Just Security: Road Map II: Legal Avenues to Prosecute a US Citizen for War Crimes—The Case of Gotabaya Rajapaksa
• Opinio Juris: Israel’s Use of Law and Warnings in Gaza
• Just Security: Laying the Groundwork for Syrian War Crimes Trials
• Opinio Juris: The Use of Human Shields and International Criminal Law
• Opinio Juris: Joint Declaration Charging Legal Violations in Israel’s Gaza Offensive
• Just Security: A Primer on the Laws of War that Apply to the Gaza Conflict
• Opinio Juris: Emerging Voices: The Contribution of International Criminal Tribunals and Courts to the Development and Promotion of International Human Rights Law
• Opinio Juris: Three Thoughts on the OTP’s Rejection of Jurisdiction over the Situation in Palestine
• Lawfare: Libya Chaos Means a Backward Step for Responsibility to Protect
• Just Security: Has Hamas Overplayed Its Lawfare Strategy?
• EJIL: Talk!: Towards a New Global Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity
• Opinio Juris: Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales Asks OTP to Investigate Gaza
• EJIL: Talk!: Article 12(2)(a) Rome Statute: The Missing Piece of the Jurisdictional Puzzle
• Opinio Juris: More on Morsi’s Shadow on Palestine’s ICC Efforts

WORTH READING

• The Combatant’s Privilege in Asymmetric & Covert Conflicts

Author: Impunity Watch Archive