In Coppet, A Crime Against Humanity The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which played a major role in the opposition to the Shah’s regime, was subjected to a brutal repression organized by the new mullahs’ regime shortly after the fall of the Shah in 1979. Under the aegis of Ayatollah Khomeini, the suppression of […]
The Fight Against Impunity at the Heart of Swiss Foreign Policy Compared to the rather meager efforts of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in the field of universal jurisdiction, Switzerland has a good foreign policy track record in the area of international criminal law. In light of its longstanding humanitarian tradition, Switzerland has long been committed […]
The Trial that Made Swiss Judges Go Down in History On June 18, the Federal Criminal Court issued a judgment convicting Alieu Kosiah, Liberian national arrested in Lausanne, for war crimes committed during the First Civil War in Liberia. How and why were Swiss judges able to pass judgment on a foreign national who has […]
Prosecution of Crimes Under International Criminal Law: a Clarification! By amending the Criminal Code in 2011, in particular from article 264 onwards, following the ratification of the Rome Statute 10 years earlier, the Swiss legislator opened up a new legal field. It entrusted the civil justice system, i.e. the Office of the Attorney General of […]
International Justice: the Slowness of Switzerland Despite the recent conviction of a Liberian warlord, Switzerland is still struggling to become a leading player in the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes. It is, however, well equipped to follow the lead of many European countries in prosecuting perpetrators of the worst atrocities. The analysis […]
Liberian Plaintiffs Make Swiss and Liberian Legal History Bellinzona, Switzerland – Seven Liberian plaintiffs have made legal history, both in Switzerland and Liberia. They persisted in their quest for justice for over seven years, despite the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-2021. The Swiss Federal Criminal Court today issued a landmark verdict […]
Alieu Kosiah case: verdict date announced Alieu Kosiah, former ULIMO commander, stood trial in Bellinzona, Switzerland, in December 2020 and in February 2021 for four weeks for the crimes he allegedly committed in Lofa County, Liberia, between 1993 and 1996. He is charged with 25 counts of war crimes, including murders, forced transports, looting, rape, […]
Press Release – 21 August 2020 New dates set for Alieu Kosiah Trial in 2020 Today, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court announced that new dates have been set for the trial of Alieu Kosiah, former United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) commander. After being postponed twice due to the spread of COVID-19, the […]
Alieu Kosiah’s Trial Postponed until the End of 2020 The trial of Alieu Kosiah, former United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) commander, has again been postponed by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court. The trial was initially scheduled to take place in April 2020, in Bellinzona, Switzerland. However in March 2020, it was postponed by the Court […]
COVID-19: Alieu Kosiah’s trial postponed Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and the increasing measures being imposed by the Swiss authorities in response to the pandemic, the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland has announced that the trial of Alieu Kosiah, former ULIMO commander, is postponed. The trial was scheduled to take place in Bellinzona, Switzerland, from […]
