Not long ago, the appeal trial of Alieu Kosiah, a former rebel leader who committed atrocities during the First Liberian Civil War, took place. The Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona sentenced him on June 1, 2023, for war crimes and, for the first time, crimes against humanity. Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima and lawyer for the plaintiffs in the trial, shares his thoughts on this unprecedented verdict.
It remains to be seen whether Rifaat al-Assad will ever be tried in Switzerland for his alleged crimes. However, thanks to the persistence of Geneva-based Trial International and the Office of the Attorney General in Bern, an international arrest warrant for him, for war crimes, has now been issued.
Switzerland issued an international arrest warrant for Rifaat al-Assad, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, for war crimes in Hama in 1982. Although Rifaat fled to Syria, the warrant represents a significant step towards accountability, thanks to Geneva-based NGO Trial International’s efforts under universal jurisdiction.
