A Parisian court has begun proceedings against a Rwandan doctor who has been living in the country, over his alleged role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The doctor, Sosthene Munyemana, had an arrest warrant issued by Interpol, and was wanted for charges including genocide and crimes against humanity. He had lived and worked in a hospital located in south-west France for the last 10 years. Having applied for asylum in 2008, it was rejected and Rwanda requested to extradite Munyemana. However, French authorities turned it down in 2010 claiming he would not be given a fair trial and instead...
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a worldwide press freedom group, called on the Egyptian military to end the violence against journalists and the censoring of media outlets. See CPJ statement - 'In Egypt, press freedom abuses must be investigated' (19/12/11) CPJ's Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, Mohamed Abdel Dayem, said, "Military authorities must stop using violence as a form of censoring the press who are exposing their violent suppression of protests in the streets of Cairo," "The Egyptian government must ensure that additional attacks on the media are...
Addressing the UN Secruity Council, chief ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, continued the court's call to end impunity in Sudan and bring those responsible for crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, to justice. Ocampo said, “ The execution of the arrest warrants will end the crimes in Darfur ." “The individuals sought by the court are still allegedly committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur ." “The world knows where the fugitives of the court are. They are in official positions, controlling the Government of the Sudan, commanding military operations in different...
A former member of the Waffen SS has begun a life-sentence for the murder of three civilians during World War II. Wheelchair bound Heinrich Boere, who is now 90 years old, was taken from his nursing home to the prison where he will serve his sentence. An appeal on medical grounds was rejected, as a medical expert testified he was well enough to serve his sentence at a suitable facility. Boere argued he had to shoot members of the Dutch resistance as he was ordered to do so by his commanding officers and risked being sent to a concentration camp himself if he didn’t comply. "At no time in 1944...
Russia has proposed a new UN resolution on Syria, condeming the violence used against civilians by “ all parties, including disproportionate use of force by Syrian authorities ”. Although officials from the US and Europe described the current draft as too mild, they welcomed it, remaining hopeful that a sterner stance can be negotiated with Moscow. US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said, “Hopefully we can work with the Russians, who for the first time at least are recognising that this is a matter that needs to go to the Security Council ”. Michael Tatham, a British official at the UN...
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, has asked the National Transitional Council of Libya what steps the government is taking to investigate war crimes committed by all sides during the rebellion.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has announced a new push to prosecute the last remaining individuals guilty of committing war crimes during the second world war. The head of the Nazi-hunting organisation's Jerusalem office, Efraim Zuroff, told a press conference in Berlin, the Center would offer a reward of 25,000 euros for information leading to successful prosecution of former Nazi's still at large. The intiative has been given a boost by the conviction of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian former camp guard. Demjanjuk was convicted purely on the basis of his employment at a concentration camp where...
Defected Syrian soldiers identified 74 of their senior officers and commanders responsible for the killing of protesters said Human Rights Watch in a report released on Thursday. The report, ‘By All Means Necessary!’: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria , has compiled evidence from over 60 interviews with defectors, where former soldiers state they were ordered to "shoot to kill" and curtail the protests "by all means necessary". One former soldier said, "Our orders were to make the demonstrators retreat by all possible means , including by shooting at...
Sudan president, Omar al-Bashir will face justice one day asserted Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, at a news conference following a briefing at the UN Security Council on Thursday. Ocampo warned, “ International justice is here to stay. It will take time but the destiny is clear. He will face justice .” Drawing parallels to the prosecution of war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, which took over 18 years but arrested all 161 accused, Ocampo warned that Bashir would eventually be arrested. Commenting on the Security Council meeting, Ocampo stated that there was " full support...
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has symbolically raised the Palestinian flag above the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to the backdrop of the Palestinian national anthem, marking the first time the flag has flown above a UN agency. Addressing the crowd at UNESCO, Abbas said , "This is truly a historic moment. This admission is the first recognition of Palestine." "It is moving to see our flag raised and for it to be flying in this beautiful city of Paris, among all the other states. This bodes well for Palestine becoming a member of other international institutions," See a video...