Khmer Rouge leaders in the dock

The trial of three surviving Khmer Rouge leaders began Monday at the UN-backed Cambodia tribunal in Phnom Penh. The prosecution is laying out its opening arguments over the first two days, after which the defence gets to have its say. Read more...>

Dutch genocide case takes shape

“Courage, Mama!” is the cry that reverberates throughout the courtroom in The Hague. The 64-year-old woman in the dock blows kisses to her weeping daughters. “The truth shall triumph,” vows Yvonne Basebya, one of two suspects in the first genocide case against a Dutch citizen. The facts of the case occurred some 5,000 kilometres away and the legal procedure has been sluggish. Read more...>

Uruguay: Expiry Law revoked

For the first time, crimes against humanity that might have been perpetrated under the military government that ruled the country between 1973 and 1985 may be investigated. Law No. 18.831, allowing the judiciary to independently investigate these crimes, was adopted by the Uruguayan Parliament on 27 October. Read more...>

Srebrenica: The Secrets of the 10th Sabotage Detachment

“We killed people in groups of 10… The prisoners who came out from the first two buses had their hands tied. It took one hour to kill all the people from one bus. The 10th detachment, I believe, killed on that day (13 July 1995) about 300 people”. Read more...>

Convict a dictator and the money will flow

The lofty ambitions of the International Criminal Court in The Hague extend not only to denying impunity for atrocities committed by the powerful, but also to offering compensation to their surviving victims. But the difference in funding levels for these two branches of the court's work could not be more stark: ICC Office of the Prosecutor annual budget - 100 million euros; ICC Victim's Support Fund - 1 million euros. The Head of the Victim's Fund Pieter de Baan described to IJT how the system works. Read more...>

No prosecution for former Khmer Rouge leader

Ieng Thirith, the 78-year-old former minister of social affairs in the Khmer Rouge regime, was declared "not fit to stand trial” on Thursday on the grounds of her dementia. Read more...>

Hidden significance of the allegation that Karremans knew

Dutchbat commander Thom Karremans, and indeed his entire battalion knew what would happen to the men and boys who were ultimately slaughtered in the genocide perpetrated by Ratko Mladić's Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. Read more...>

Bangladesh tribunal starts

In widely-criticised procedures, the government will finally bring traitors from Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence to justice, said official on Sunday. Read more...>

Dutch genocide bill comes with caveats

A bill expanding the jurisdiction of Dutch courts to hear cases involving international crimes was adopted by the Dutch parliament on 10 November. In particular, the bill, which still has to be adopted by the Senate, allows for the exercise of universal jurisdiction over crimes of genocide committed since 1970. Also, for the exercise of jurisdiction over cases referred to the Netherlands by international criminal tribunals. Read more...>

Sri Lanka ex-army chief jailed for three years

A Sri Lankan court Friday jailed former army chief Sarath Fonseka for three years for alleging that the president's brother had ordered the execution of surrendering Tamil rebels. Read more...>

15 years in prison for Rwandan ex-mayor

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Thursday sentenced former Rwandan mayor Gregoire Ndahimana to 15-year imprisonment after finding him guilty of genocide and extermination as crimes against humanity. Read more...>

ICTY orders arrest of former spokesperson Hartmann

The UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued an arrest warrant Wednesday against a former spokeswoman for the tribunal's chief prosecutor for failing to pay a 7,000-euro fine. Read more...>

DRC elections: Bemba supporters still in the game

As the Congolese people prepare to go to the polls on 28 November to choose a new president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, the strongest opposition candidate in the 2006 presidential elections, is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). For his supporters however, his current incarceration does not mean he is completely out of the game. Read more...>

ICC prosecutor monitors Congo elections

Congolese politicians must avoid electoral violence or risk facing the International Criminal Court (ICC), its prosecutor said on Friday, joining an international chorus of warning about the prospect of bloodshed in this month's voting. Read more...>

Empty chair at Mladic genocide hearing

Even before it began, the second initial appearance of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic before the ICTY, was postponed. He was not well enough to attend on Thursday, said the Detention Unit Medical Officer, who examined him. He is accused of responsibility for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed during the Bosnian war in the early ‘90’s. Read more...>

Lebanon: Police must do more than knock on doors

Are Lebanese authorities doing more than knocking on the doors of long since vacated last known addresses of the four defendants, in the case against the men suspected of killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri?. Read more...>