25 January 2023 – International Criminal Justice

UN tribunal hears appeal in longest-running war crimes case Courthouse News, 24 Jan 2023 Two top former Serbian secret police officers brought an appeal of their war crimes convictions before a United Nations tribunal on Tuesday, 20 years after they were first arrested. Jovica Stanišić, former head of the Serbian State Security Service, and his top deputy Franko Simatović argue there was no evidence for their 2021 convictions and they played insignificant roles in the violent conflicts that took place after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Read More Norwegian police question ex-Wagner commander about time in Ukraine Reuters, 24 Jan 2023 Norwegian police have begun questioning a former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who recently fled to Norway about his time in Ukraine, police said on Tuesday. Kripos, Norway’s national criminal police service, which has responsibility for investigating war crimes, has begun questioning him about his experiences in Ukraine. Kripos is part of the international effort to investigate war crimes in Ukraine conducted by the International Criminal Court. Read More Hague Tribunal’s Blind Spots Marred Wartime Sexual Violence Cases Balkan Insight, 24 Jan 2023 The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY heard several prominent cases that involved sexual violence, but extensive research into its digital court records reveals that the Hague-based court had blind spots and lacked deeper understanding of the context in which these crimes took place. Read More ICC justifies charging Kony in absentia Daily Monitor, 24 Jan 2023 The International Criminal Court (ICC) has detailed why it wants the 33 charges slapped against Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony confirmed. Addressing the media in Gulu City yesterday, Mr Dahirou Santana, the international cooperation advisor in the office of the ICC chief prosecutor, said confirming the charges against Kony in absentia would renew efforts to arrest him. Read More Top UN body asks what more can be done to stop genocide, atrocity crimes UN News, 24 Jan 2023 Ambassadors, UN officials and experts from the international community have been sharing ways to better prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity, at a special meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York on Tuesday. Read More Ukraine war: MEPs push for special tribunal to punish Russian crimes European Parliament News, 19 Jan 2023 In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs demand the Russian political and military leadership be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Parliament says the atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Irpin and many other Ukrainian towns reveal the brutality of the war and underscore the importance of coordinated international action to bring those accountable to justice under international law. MEPs urge the EU, in close cooperation with Ukraine and the international community, to push for the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russia’s political and military leadership and its allies. Read More Germany/Gambia: Migrant Massacre Survivor to Testify Human Rights Watch, 19 Jan 2023 A Ghanaian citizen who survived the massacre of approximately 59 West African migrants in July 2005 by a paramilitary “death squad” in Gambia will testify before a court on January 19, 2023, in the German city of Celle, ANEKED, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the Solo Sandeng Foundation, and TRIAL International said today. The death squad was allegedly set up by the then-Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. The trial is of Bai L., who was allegedly involved in the killings. Read More