In this week’s review, news about the CAR Special Criminal Court, terms of Karadzic’s custody, call for ISIS trial, reparations in Ntaganda case, crimes against humanity charges in Sudan and more:
Bangui prosecutor refers case to CAR Special Criminal Court
A Bangui-based prosecutor has handed over the case of three suspected 3R armed group members to the CAR Special Criminal Court (SCC). The three individuals are suspected of carrying out a massacre of 46 civilians on 21 May 2019 in Paoua village. The killings could amount to war crimes. If the SCC accepts jurisdiction over the case, it would be one of the first cases tried before the Court. The SCC was created on 3 June 2015 as a hybrid court, incorporating domestic and international law. It falls within the CAR judicial system with a renewable 5-year mandate. It is tasked with prosecuting and trying individuals responsible for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in CAR since 1 January 2003. Its jurisdiction also covers the alleged crimes committed during the regime of the former CAR President Francois Bozizé. Even though it was established in 2015, the first inaugural session took place on 22 October 2018. The setback was caused mostly by the frequent unrest and waves of violence in CAR. The SCC has a seat in Bangui but the cases can be heard anywhere in the country. Four other cases are currently before the SCC. (Justice Info)
Karadzic appeals video call ban
The lawyer for former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, Peter Robinson, has appealed the decision of the Mechanism for the International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) to end a pilot program which allowed detainees access to online video-telephone technology. He argued that the decision would prevent Mr Karadzic from contacting his family. Mr Karadzic is currently serving a life sentence for genocide and other crimes and has so far served 11 years of his sentence. He was investigated in 2019 for misusing his phone privileges, by taking part in a public event held in Montenegro. The MICT decided to revoke access to video calls for all detainees because the calls cannot be monitored in real-time due to the technical and resource limitations of the UN Detention Unit. The MICT claimed that detainees had previously misused the communications system at the Detention Unit for making public statements or taking part in TV shows without permission from the Detention Unit chief, as required by the rules. (Balkan Insight)
Head of UN probe into ISIS crimes calls for Nuremberg-style trials
The head of a UN team investigating ISIS crimes in Iraq, Karim Khan, has called for ISIS members to face trials similar to those held at Nuremberg after the Second World War. Mr Khan compared the way in which ideology fuelled the acts of ISIS did “in the same way that fascism fuelled the criminal pogroms of Hitler.” He said that just as Nuremberg was held as an example for Germany and Europe, ISIS trials “would have an educative effect, not only in the region, but in other parts of the world where communities may be vulnerable to the lies and propaganda of ISIS”. The UN investigative body, known as Unitad, has been tasked with analysing about 12,000 bodies from more than 200 mass graves, about 600,000 videos of crimes committed by ISIS and 15,000 pages from the group’s bureaucracy. It is an 80 person team. Iraq has already sentenced hundreds of its own citizens suspected of joining the terrorist group to death, whether they fought for ISIS or not. (The National)
ICC TC scheduling order for Registry and parties submissions on reparations in Ntaganda case
On 25 July 2019, a scheduling order for the Registry and party submissions on reparation in the Ntaganda case was issued by ICC Trial Chamber VI. Single Judge Chang-ho Chung ordered the Registry to submit information on the proposed methodology for the identification of victims, observations on whether experts may be usefully appointed to assist the Chamber and an update on the security situation in the DRC by 5 September 2019. The Judge also ordered that the LRVs, the Defence, the Prosecution, and the TFV to file any responses by 19 September 2019. (ICC TC Order for preliminary information on reparations)
Sudan to charge military officers with crimes against humanity over deadly crackdown
The Sudanese prosecutor has charged eight members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with crimes against humanity. According to the investigation, 87 protestors were killed and 168 wounded in June 2019 protests. RSF, a paramilitary security force, allegedly exceeded and violated orders to clear out an area in the vicinity of the protests. Instead, the security forces engaged in the indiscriminate shooting of sit-in protesters. Following the deadly crackdown, an official investigation was launched. The findings, however, fueled an even larger wave of protests. Arguably, the death toll was much higher, up to 130 casualties and 400 wounded. The prosecutor did not make findings on the reported allegations of rape and sexual violence during the protests. The opposition coalition called for an independent inquiry into the killings. Under Sudanese law, a guilty verdict for crimes against humanity may lead to the death penalty. After the former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir was ousted, the country was hit by protests. Protesters called for power to be handed over from the military to the civilian government. The military and the opposition coalition recently signed the first part of the Political Declaration. A transitional power-sharing deal was signed which will be in place for the next 39 months. (BBC, Deutsche Welle)
Former Israeli Prime Minister cancels visit to Switzerland over universal jurisdiction war crimes investigation: Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli Prime Minister who spent time in prison from 2016-2017 for corruption and obstruction of justice while he was the trade minister and mayor of Jerusalem, has cancelled a visit to Switzerland. Mr Olmert was notified that he would be summoned for questioning and potentially subject to arrest in connection with war crimes charges related to what is called the ‘Operation Cast Lead’ assault on the Gaza Strip. The IDF operation which took place in 2008-2009 while Mr Olmert was prime minister, lasted for three weeks and resulted in over one thousand Palestinian deaths. (Middle East Monitor, The Jerusalem Post)
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