Focus on International Justice – March
Ground-breaking appeal decision in the Kunti Kamara case
On March 27th, the French Court of appeals, composed of three judges and nine jury members, found Kunti Kamara, former Liberian ULIMO commander, guilty of complicity in crimes against humanity and the commission of simple and aggravated acts of torture and barbarism in Lofa county, Liberia during the first civil war. Mr Kamara was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
The court’s ruling is significant in its appreciation of the widespread practice of sexual violence committed by ULIMO as an armed group. It ruled that there was a massive and systematic practice of sexual violence and slavery committed by members of the group in 1994. This practice was characterised as a ‘concerted plan’ to spread terror and exert the power of the armed group over the civilian population in the territory it controlled. Kunti Kamara’s case is the first time, since cases related to the Second World War or the Rwandan genocide, that trial judges have identified the ‘concerted plan’ element of crimes against humanity.
For the acts of sexual violence in question, Mr Kamara was not accused of having committed them himself. He was found guilty of having knowingly facilitated the preparation or commission, by his soldiers, of acts of rape and sexual abuse, qualified as sexual slavery, torture or inhumane acts.
Mr Kamara’s defence has filed an appeal on questions of law applied to the case.
What else happened this month?
[Iran] Fact finding mission reports crimes against humanity – The independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran presented its inaugural report to the UN Human Rights Council in March. It was tasked with documenting human rights violations committed by the Iranian government since the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests that began in September 2022. It was found that atrocities such as extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape disproportionately affected women, children, and minority groups, and could constitute crimes against humanity.
[UK] British agents arrested for war crimes in Syria – 5 agents of the British Special Air Service have been arrested in the United Kingdom on suspicion of war crimes committed during an operation in Syria. They are reported to have used excessive force when killing a man that they suspected of being a jihadist fighter, when they should have arrested him instead. The murder charges have been referred to the British military prosecution authority.
[Guinea] Court postpones decision on crime against humanity – In the beginning of March, the prosecutors in the case of 2009 Conakry Stadium Massacre requested to requalify the facts as crimes against humanity. The charges, implicating 11 men in the murder of over 150 peaceful demonstrators and the rape of scores of women, are currently examined under Guinean law, as murder, assassination, rape, and torture. While the change in qualification would not change the life sentence already applicable, the defence argued that adding this qualification so late into the proceedings violates the right to a fair trial.
[Argentina] 10 life sentences for dictatorship-era crimes – The mass ‘Los Pozos’ case into three detention centres has ended with the handing down of 10 life sentences, one 25-year sentence, and one acquittal. During Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, crimes such as abduction, forced disappearances, homicide, torture, rape, baby-snatching, and forced abortions were found to have been committed at these centres. Miguel Etchecolatz, the former Buenos Aires police chief who supervised the 3 main ‘Pozo’ centres, died in prison in 2022.
[Venezuela] ICC investigations to continue – On March 1, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC denied the appeal filed by Venezuela, which aimed to halt the Court’s investigations into the country. In 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor concluded that there was a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed since at least April 2017, under Nicolás Maduro’s presidency. This was the last appeal resort open to Venezuela, meaning the ICC’s investigations will be set to resume.
[Palestine] NGOs take state actors to courts over arms supplies – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become the first Western leader to be directly referred to the ICC Prosecutor for investigation. The referral, filed by Australian lawyers, accuses the PM and other high-level politicians, through their military and political assistance, of complicity in the alleged genocide committed by Israel in Palestine. In Denmark, a collective of NGOs are suing the Danish National Police and Ministry of Foreign affairs before national courts. The suit aims to oblige to government to halt its exports of weapons and military equipment to Israel.
[Palestine] Genocide cases at the ICJ – On March 28, the ICJ issued new provisional measures in the South Africa Genocide case against Israel. The Court observed that ‘the catastrophic living conditions’ in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated, justifying the modification of the measures it ordered in January. Nicaragua also filed a case at the ICJ against Germany, for facilitating the alleged genocide committed by Israel in Gaza. Nicaragua alleges that by providing military assistance to Israel, and by halting funding to the UNRWA, Germany is facilitating, or at least failing its obligation to prevent, the commission of genocide. Hearings on a request for provisional measures are scheduled to take place in April.
[Ukraine] ICC issues arrest warrants – The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, a Russian Lieutenant General, and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, a former Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, for alleged crimes committed between 2022 and 2023 in Ukraine. They are suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity for their involvement in an alleged campaign of strikes against electric power plants, carried out by the Russian armed forces in various locations in Ukraine. The content of the arrest warrant remains confidential.
[The Gambia] Ousman Sonko trial closes – In Bellinzona, Switzerland, the crimes against humanity trial against Ousman Sonko, former Minister of the Interior under former dictator Yahya Jammeh, came to an end. The plaintiffs’ legal representatives, the prosecutor, and the defence gave their closing arguments on the charges of complicity in torture, murder, and rape that he is alleged to have committed between 2006 and 2016. The prosecution sought a life sentence for Mr Sonko, while his defence maintained that as part of the Gambian administration, Sonko could not be held responsible for crimes allegedly committed by the so-called ‘Junglers’ or other government forces. Ousman Sonko was tried under universal jurisdiction and the case is the second crimes against humanity case to be held in Switzerland, after that of Alieu Kosiah.
[Syria] Former Syrian Vice President indicted in Switzerland – The case against Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria’s current President Bashar al-Assad, has been referred to trial in Switzerland. He is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Hama, Syria, during a crackdown on a Muslim Brotherhood uprising that saw thousands of people killed by security forces. Mr al-Assad remains a fugitive in Syria and is subject to an international arrest warrant.
[Iraq] German woman loses crimes against humanity appeal – A German woman has lost her appeal against a conviction for crimes against humanity committed in Iraq in August 2015. In 2021, she was found guilty of, amongst other crimes, enslavement as a crime against humanity. It was found that when she and her husband joined the Islamic State group in Iraq, they enslaved a 5-year-old Yazidi girl and had allowed her to die of thirst. Her initial sentence of 10 years in prison was increased to 14 years by the Federal Court of Justice.
Did we forget anything? Let us know with a comment!
