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

War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 11 – Issue 25 February 20, 2016

Editor-in-Chief Kevin J. Vogel Technical Editor-in-Chief Jeradon Z. Mura Managing Editors Dustin Narcisse Victoria Sarant

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

AFRICA

CENTRAL AFRICA

Central African Republic

Sudan & South Sudan

• Al Jazeera: UN: Refugees from South Sudan Cross 1.5 million Mark
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: South Sudan: Humanitarian Organizations Appeal for $1.6 Billion amidst Rising Needs
• The Washington Post: UN Says Fighting in 2 South Sudan Hotspots Is ‘Devastating’

Democratic Republic of the Congo

• International Justice Project: UN Investigators ‘Found Widespread Reports of Crimes by Ntaganda’s Forces’
• International Justice Monitor: Witness: Both Sides in Congo Conflict Killed Civilians
• International Justice Monitor: What Sentences Could the ICC Impose for Witness Interference?
• International Justice Monitor: More Evidence in Ntaganda Trial Heard in Closed Session
• Yahoo News: DR Congo war crimes trial resumes for ex-warlord Katanga
• International Justice Monitor: How the Trust Fund for Victims Will Spend €1 Million on Collective Reparations in Congo

WEST AFRICA

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

• Deutsche Welle: Ivory Coast Detains Six Journalists Over Mutiny Reporting

Lake Chad Region — Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon

• U.S. News: UN: 120,000 Nigerians Likely Face Boko Haram-Created Famine
• The Washington Post: Boko Haram Kills 7 New Army Recruits, Abducts Female Soldier
• Reuters: Nigeria’s Vice President Visits Restive Delta Oil Hub for Peace Talks
• U.S. News: Nigeria: up to $100 Billion Lost From Oil Militant Attacks

Mali

• Yahoo News: Key Parts of Mali Peace Deal to Roll Out This Month
• Africa News: Mali to Begin Mixed Patrols Before End of February
• Reuters: Ethnic Clashes in Central Mali Kill at Least 13

EAST AFRICA

Uganda

• International Business Times: Uganda: Feared LRA rebel commander Thomas Kwoyelo appears in Kampala court for first time

Kenya

• The New York Times: Kenyan Court Bocks Plan to Close Dadaab Refugee Camp
• Jurist: UN rights experts urge Kenya to cease crackdowns on rights groups

Rwanda (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda)

• The Times of Israel: At Rwanda Holocaust tribute, ‘Never Again’ is a hopeful slogan
• All Africa: Rwanda: Legal Framework Impedes Extradition of Genocide Suspect From Malawi

Somalia

• Reuters: Somalia’s al Shabaab executes four men accused of spying
• Bloomberg L.P.: Islamist Militants Step Up Attacks as Somalia Chooses President
• All Africa: Somalia: AMISOM Says Foiled Truck Bomb Attack
• Garowe Online: Somalia: One dead, two injured in Mogadishu grenade attack

NORTH AFRICA

Libya

• The New York Times: Eastern Forces Strike Base in Central Libya as Rival Groups Clash in Tripoli
• The New York Times: Support Growing for Amending Libya Government Leadership: U.N. Official
• The New York Times: US Blocks Palestinian From Leading UN Mission in Libya
• The New York Times: Egypt Brokers Libya Peace Roadmap, but Key Figures Fail to Meet

EUROPE

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber

• Balkan Insight: Bosnia Mulls Srebrenica Genocide Court Challenge to Serbia
• Balkan Insight: Bosnian Prosecution Seeks More Funds for Exhumations

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

• India WebPortal Private Limited: UN court seeks Interpol’s help to arrest Serbs

Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia

• Balkan Insight: Captain Dragan ‘Watched Serbs Assaulting Prisoners’: Witness
• Balkan Insight: Bosnian Serb Troops ‘Detained, Killed’ Prisoners of War
• Balkan Insight: First Serbian Srebrenica Trial Opens in Belgrade
• Balkan Insight: EU Appoints 19 Judges for New Kosovo Court
• Balkan Insight: Serbian Paramilitary Captail Dragan ‘Led Deadly Attack’
• Balkan Insight: Croatia Told to Compensate 1990s Prisoner of War
• Balkan Insight: France Postpones Extradition Ruling on Kosovo’s Haradinaj
• Balkan Insight: Croatian Police Official’s War Crimes Sentence Increased
• Reuters: Kosovo to form truth commission as wounds from 1998-99 war fester
• Balkan Insight: Kosovo Confirms Arrest Warrants for 57 Serbians

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Iraq

• Al Jazeera: Turkmen Mobilise for a Post-ISIL Future
• The Chicago Tribune: Children held in Iraq over suspected Isis links ‘say they were tortured’
• BBC News: Baghdad car bomb kills at least 48

Syria

• The New York Times: 9 Syrian Officials Are Accused of Torture in Spanish Court
• The New York Times: Amnesty Report Accuses Syria of Executing Thousands Since War Began
• The New York Times: Syria Used Chlorine Bombs Systematically in Aleppo, Report Says

Yemen

• Press TV: UK ‘complicit’ in Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen: Analyst
• PBS: UN: Yemen fighting displaced tens of thousands more people
• Relief Web: Yemen UNHCR Flash Update, 10 February 2017
• World Health Organization: WHO responds to health needs of populations fleeing conflict in Al-Mokha City in Taizz governorate, Yemen

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

• The Phnom Penh Post: Court rules soldiers can, sometimes, be ‘civilians’

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

• The Daily Star: Defense objects to questioning of cellular data witness: STL
• The Daily Star: STL questions usage of unsecured phone group
• The Daily Star: STL testimony emphasizes coordination among cellular networks
• The Daily Star: STL witness details covert cellular network strategies

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

• Dhaka Tribune: ICT: Submit charges against 14 war criminals on Mar 28
• Dhaka Tribune: Evidence found against four Satkhira Razakars
• Dhaka Tribune: War Crimes suspect arrested in Jamalpur

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

• Source: Burmese government ‘kills more than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims’ in crackdown
• The Independent: Burmese government ‘kills more than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims’ in crackdown
• The Irrawaddy: Burma Army Seizes Two Military Bases from Mon Armed Group
• The New York Times: Myanmar Says Ex-Army Officer Ordered Prominent Lawyer’s Murder

Israel and Palestine

• The Washington Post: Israeli police begin forced removal of Amona settlers in the West Bank
• The Algemeiner: Jewish Leaders Denounce Palestinian Authority’s ‘Fort of Torture’

North Korea

• International Business Times: Is Kim Jong Un’s North Korea Abducting South Koreans? UN Working Group Says Numbers ‘Alarmingly High’ As Pyongyang Refuses to Cooperate
• Human Rights Watch: North Korea: End Rampant Forced Child Labor

AMERICAS

North & Central America

• CBC News: Prosecute ISIS fighters for murder, rape, slavery, torture – not just terrorism, expert says

South America

• France 24: Way cleared for peace talks as Colombia rebels free hostage
• teleSur: Colombian Companies Charged for Crimes Against Humanity
• Colombia Reports: Santos installs ‘post-conflict cabinet’ within Colombia’s existing cabinet

TOPICS

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

• The Himalayan Times: Supreme Court invalidates TRC guidelines
• Kathmandu Post: TJ Act amendment draft: 20-year jail for guilty of murder, disappearance
• Japan Times: Dealing with Taiwan’s nightmares past and present
• Balkan Insight: Kosovo’s Thaci Announces Post-War Reconciliation Commission
• Newsday: Bill to gag National Peace and Reconciliation Commission

Terrorism

• CNN: Two New York men plead guilty in ISIS-related terrorism case
• The Blaze: UN Secretary General: Islamophobia leads to terrorism
• The Washington Times: Iran growing network to train foreign terrorists, dissident group says
• New York Daily News: Tennessee man who plotted New York mosque attack won’t face terrorism charges
• Huffington Post: Militants Put Half-hearted Pakistani Counter-terrorism At Crossroads
• BBC News: Tredegar man charged with terrorism offences

Piracy

• Business Day: Coastal security: NIMASA targets 100% piracy free 2017
• Maritime Executive: Nigerian Pirates Kidnap Crew of German-Owned Freighter
• The Guardian: Navy launches Operation Tsare Teku to end piracy in Niger Delta
• OilPrice.com: Nigeria Rescues Oil Tanker From High-Seas Pirates
• The Financial Times: Islamist militant piracy troubles Philippines
• Radio New Zealand: Airforce plane to join piracy and trafficking mission
• ABS-CBN News: Philippines says Japan offers help in anti-piracy effort
• Maritime Executive: Abu Sayyaf Threatens to Behead German Yachtsman

Gender-Based Violence

• Rudaw: Women’s rights campaigner tackles gender violence in Kurdistan Region
• EurActiv: Tackling violence against women: A priority for the EU
• News Deeply: Lesbian Domestic Violence: South Africa’s Invisible Epidemic
• CNN: Putin signs law reducing punishment for domestic battery
• Equal Times: Istanbul Convention: a minimum standard and a tool for eradicating gender violence

Commentary and Perspectives

• teleSur: Are Guatemalan Kaibiles Hired Guns for Canadian Mining?
• The Guardian: The Guardian view on Syrian war crimes: searching for a road to justice
• The Nation: Have the Syrian Kurds Committed War Crimes?
• The Christian Science Monitor: The UN’s step for justice in Syria

Author: Impunity Watch Archive