International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. Khan who is currently on a mission In Bangladesh said in his statement ,
Pul-e-Charki Prison, Kabul, January 2012 A 76-year-old Afghan man, Abdul Razaq Arief, accused of abusing political prisoners in the 1980s, is currently on trial at The Hague district court. The Dutch court is trying Arief for war crimes, citing his role as commander and head of Political Affairs at the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison from 1983 - 1990 in Kabul. Reportedly, opponents of Afghanistan's Soviet-backed regime were "held without fair trial in appalling conditions," in which prisoners had "no shower, no soap, no heating, [and] no warm water." One witness detailed that prisoners were...
'They slap a price on you' - Ethiopian officials accused of extorting arbitrarily detained Tigrayans
In a damning report by Al Jazeera , reporters uncovered a series of incidents where Ethiopian security officers have been extorting and abusing Tigrayan civilians detained without charge. Since an influx of arbitrary arrests last year, Ethiopian security forces, including "prison wardens, government prosecutors and officials from the attorney general's offices have demanded exorbitant bribes for release."
In the aftermath of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, both the UEFA Champions League and Formula 1 have cancelled scheduled sporting events in Russia. European football's governing body held an emergency meeting earlier this morning and announced that the 2022 Champions League final will be played in Paris, instead of St Petersburg on 28 May. "Together with the French government, Uefa will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement," said UEFA in...
In a statement released earlier this month, five UN Special Rapporteurs highlighted the "appalling and pervasive culture of impunity in Bangladesh," over the failure of Bangladeshi authorities to ensure justice for two journalists killed ten years ago. Journalists , Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, were killed in 2021, yet no one has been charged with their death. Sagar and Runi were stabbed to death in their own home, in front of their 5-year-old son. "When crimes against journalists go unpunished, they embolden the perpetrators and encourage more attacks, threats and killings with the...
Several explosions have been reported across Ukraine, as Russian troops launched offensives across the region in the early hours of this morning. More than 40 Ukranian troops are reported to have been killed so far.
Last month, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution, put forth by Israel and Germany, to “reject and condemn without and reservation any denial of The Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part.” The resolution urges member states and social media platforms to “take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.” The resolution was approved by consensus without a vote. However, Israel “disassociated” itself from the resolution. The resolution highlights that remembrance “is a key component to the prevention of further acts of...
American citizen Ross Roggio, 53, has been indicted on two separate charges of torture for the alleged abuse of an employee in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2015. Roggio living in Pennsylvania, was previously indicted on 37 charges of illegally exporting weapons to Kurdistan. Roggio allegedly worked with Kurdish officials to construct a weapons factory, which produced weapons for Kurdish soldiers. However, the additional charges of torture claim that while Roggio was managing a weapons factory, an employee “raised concerns about the weapons project.” Responding to the concerns, Roggio...
A former senior Spanish police officer has claimed that Spanish intelligence services knew about the plans of the terror cell responsible for the 2017 Barcelona attacks but failed to act in a bid to destabilise Catalonia before a crucial independence vote. The government of Catalonia is demanding an investigation after a controversial former police officer claimed that the CNI, Spanish intelligence services, knew about the activities of a terrorist cell ahead of a deadly attack it carried out. which left sixteen people dead and more than a hundred injured. Fourteen people died on August 17th...
Five former Guatemalan paramilitaries are currently on trial for the rape of 36 Indigenous Mayan women during the 1980s. Indigenous people were often targeted and harassed by the military government for allegedly backing the left-wing guerrillas during the conflict that took place between 1960 and 1996. In 2018, the five former paramilitaries were arrested along with three others. However, the case was dismissed and the magistrate released them. One died before being released. After authorities re-captured the remaining ex-paramilitaries, two were acquitted. According to prosecutors, victims...