Monthly News Updates: Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes - May 2021
By: Alexandrah Bakker, Research Associate, PILPG-NL
The following post highlights developments from around the world in the domestic prosecution of international crimes. This month saw developments at all stages of criminal proceedings, including the filing of criminal complaints, the strengthening of national legislation, and steps towards long-awaited convictions.
EUROPE
Ukraine | Ukraine Parliament adopts international crimes law
The Parliament of Ukraine has adopted a law incorporating provisions of international criminal law and international humanitarian law into the state’s domestic criminal legislation. Ukraine is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and previously did not have legislation aligning its domestic law with international law. [May 20, 2021]
Finland | Gibril Massaquoi trial returns to Finland
Following several months of hearings in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the judges and parties in the Gibril Massaquoi trial have returned to Finland for the conclusion of the trial. Massaquoi is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the First Liberian Civil War. [May 20, 2021]
Switzerland | Swiss Federal Court announces date of Alieu Kosiah verdict
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has announced that the verdict in the landmark Alieu Kosiah trial will be rendered on June 18, 2021, at 13:30 CET. Kosiah is the first Liberian to stand trial for crimes committed during the Liberian civil wars. [May 18, 2021]
France | Paris Court of Appeal orders release of Rwanda genocide suspect
The investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal ordered the release of Marcel Hitayezu, a Rwandan priest due to stand trial over his role in the 1994 genocide, under judicial supervision. The indictment against Hitayezu accuses him of genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity for depriving Tutsis of food and water after they sought refuge in his church. [May 8, 2021]
The Netherlands | Appeals Court of The Hague approves extradition of Rwandan genocide suspect
The Appeals Court of The Hague has approved the extradition of a Rwandan man facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over his role in the 1994 genocide. [May 6, 2021]
Germany | Belarusians file criminal complaint in Germany against Alexander Lukashenko
A group of Belarusians has filed a criminal complaint in Germany accusing President Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials of crimes against humanity. The complaint alleges that the individuals were victims of “violence, systematic torture, and other abuses” since the presidential election in August 2020. [May 5, 2021]
Sweden | Swedish Supreme Court rules that dead persons are protected under international humanitarian law
The Swedish Supreme Court has ruled that dead persons are protected against humiliating treatment under both international humanitarian law and Swedish law. The judgment comes in the first universal jurisdiction case to reach Sweden’s Supreme Court. [May 5, 2021]
France | Prosecutors ask judges to drop case accusing members of French armed forces of complicity in crimes against humanity in Rwanda
Prosecutors have asked judges to drop a case brought in 2005 against members of the French armed forces deployed in Rwanda in 1994. The charges accuse the officers of complicity in crimes against humanity for deliberately abandoning Tutsi refugees to be massacred. [May 3, 2021]
THE AMERICAS
Colombia | Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace accredits LGBTI victims
The Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) accredited five LGBTI individuals as victims of the state’s armed conflict, thereby recognizing gender-based persecution as a crime against humanity falling under the JEP’s jurisdiction. The accreditation also clarifies the definition of gender-based persecution as including persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. [May 4, 2021]
ASIA
Armenia | Armenia convicts Syrian mercenaries for role in Nagorno-Karabakh
A court in the Syunik region of Armenia convicted two Syrians of violations of international humanitarian law and sentenced them to life imprisonment for fighting alongside Azerbaijan’s armed forces in the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. [May 4, 2021]