May 2020 - Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes Updates
By: Sophia Zademack, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
This month, several states have initiated or continued to prosecute international crimes in their domestic jurisdiction. This article summarizes and highlights some of them, relying on international and national sources.
EUROPE
France | Rwandan Genocide suspect arrested
The French police have arrested 84-year-old Félicien Kabuga near Paris. Kabuga is accused of financing the killings of the Rwandan Genocide and was one of the world’s most wanted men. Allegedly, he created the Interahamwe militia and equipped it with the machetes used in the majority of its murders. As one of Rwanda’s richest men, he also ran the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, which incited murder during the genocide. He will now appear before local magistrates in France before being transferred to the custody of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague to stand trial. [16 May 2020]
Switzerland | Oil trading company accused of war crimes by NGO
The NGO Trial International has filed a criminal complaint for complicity in pillage against the Swiss company Kolmar Group. The investigations retraced the transnational network of gasoil smuggling from Libya. The Kolmar Group is alleged of purchasing more than 50,000 tonnes of smuggled gasoil between 2014 and 2015, which could constitute complicity in pillage. Pillage is a war crime under the Rome Statute and also under the Swiss Criminal Code. The Office of the Swiss General Attorney will now take up further investigations. [24 May 2020]
Germany | Germany starts proceedings against a German/Tunisian woman, accused of crimes against humanity.
Germany started the proceedings against a woman that allegedly committed crimes against humanity while living in Syria with her family. A 13 year old Yazidi girl allegedly was held as a slave by the accused woman and after several months passed on to another family. The woman joined the IS in 2015 and moved back to Germany in 2016. In 2019 she was arrested in Hamburg where the proceedings take place. [4 May 2020]
THE AMERICAS
Colombia | No pardons or amnesties for war crimes or crimes against humanity
Colombia will offer individuals who leave crime gangs and rebel dissident groups legal benefits, including reduced sentences in an effort to weaken illegal armed groups, Colombia’s high peace commissioner said. Those who voluntarily surrender will get legal benefits such as reductions in jail sentences and access to an up to six-year reintegration process that includes economic support. However, the peace commissioner also made clear that there will not be pardons or amnesties for those responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. [30 Apr. 2020]
Brazil | Argentine fugitive from dictatorship arrested in Brazil
Brazil's federal police agency has arrested a former Argentine navy officer accused of dictatorship-era crimes, including crimes against humanity and kidnapping. Argentina's foreign ministry confirmed the identity in a statement, saying that the man was Gonzalo Sánchez, also known as „Chispa". He is suspected of forming part of a group that assassinated students, union members and opposition politicians. Brazil plans to extradite him to Argentina. [12 May 2020]
AUSTRALIA
Australia | War veteran might face charges for war crimes
One of Australia’s decorated Afghan veterans possibly faces charges for alleged war crimes. Official sources have confirmed that federal agents have submitted evidence concerning the allegations to prosecutors. The evidence outlines that the veteran kicked a defenseless prisoner off a cliff and covered up the subsequent murder during a mission in Afghanistan in September 2012. [7 May 2020]
AFRICA
Central African Republic | Massacre leads to investigations about war crimes and crimes against humanity
The prosecutors of the Central African Republic (CAR) announced an inquiry on suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity after more than two dozen people were massacred in the Central African Republic. Around 30 corpses were found, including a mother and her baby. According to the prosecutor, the leaders of the armed groups that conducted the attack are the main suspects. [7 May 2020]