Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused armed opposition groups in Syria of deliberately destroying religious sites in November and December 2012, following investigations in mixed areas of Northern Syria. According to evidence examined and witness statements, a Shia mosque was destroyed and two Christian churches looted after their respective towns fell into opposition control. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said: “The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country, with tens of thousands killed. Syria...
A court in Guatemala has begun a pre-trial hearing into a genocide case against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, in potentially the first trial for genocide of the country’s indigenous tribes. The 86-year-old former general who ruled from 1982-83, stands accused of overseeing hundreds of killings of Mayan indigenous tribes whom he claimed were linked to leftist rebels. He was accompanied by generals Jose Rodriguez and Hector Lopez, who also stand accused. Rios Montt’s lawyers argue that he is protected by an amnesty law. A UN-backed Historical Clarification Commission found the Guatemalan...
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Turkey of abusing anti-terror laws after an Istanbul court ordered the pre-trial detention of nine human rights lawyers. The lawyers were among 12 arrested last week during early morning raids. HRW claims that Turkey's 'overbroad' anti-terrorism laws have been used more widely to charge for non-violent political activities and legitimate exercise of rights, with charges often accompanied by prlonged pretrial detention. Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch said: “Police raids against lawyers at 4 a.m., their arrest and...
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has appealed last year’s verdict at The Hague, which saw him sentenced to 50 years in prison for aiding and abetting rebels in Sierra Leone during the country’s brutal civil war. His legal representatives appealed on more than 40 grounds, saying that the verdict was based on "uncorroborated hearsay evidence". "The colossal judgment, over 2,500 pages in length, is plagued throughout by internal inconsistencies, misstatements of evidence and conflicting findings," his lawyer Morris Anyah said in court papers, quoted by AFP news agency. Christopher...
Rwandan Prosecutor-General Martin Ngoga has slammed France, criticising the country for not doing enough to bring genocide suspects in its territory to justice and stated that Rwanda is willing to consider legal action against France. In an interview earlier th is week, Ngo ga state d , "In eighteen years, France has not done anything with regard to the genocide suspects... Why? Because it is still protecting them." "Why haven't these cases been brought to trial?... The ICTR gave France two case files. It accepted them and promised to process them with diligence. But for the last five years...
The US criticised the prolonged delay in oil exportation by South Sudan and Sudan on Tuesday, arguing that it undermines the peace process. Oil export has been delayed since the two states were unable to come to an agreement on how to withdraw their armies from the disputed border territories. In a statement the spokesperson for the US State Department Victoria Nuland said : "The government of Sudan's intent to postpone the restart of oil production until the implementation of security arrangements is complete runs counter to the fundamental principles of the [September] accord and continues...
The form e r head of the United Nations 2003 mission in S udan h as stated that aerial and ground atta c ks by Sudan's government forc es in a border conflict with rebels may amount to war crim es. Mukesh Kapila, who took a 10-day tour of the South Kordofan and and Blue Nile area, told Re uters , "What's happened over the last two odd years ... is basically exactly the same tactics as Darfur except in the interim period the technology of war has improved" "This is the world's biggest human rights disaster... The tactics they are using point towards war crimes and crimes against humanity being...
A court in Johannesburg has convicted Nigerian militant Henry Okah of 13 terrorism counts, over a car bombing in Abuja in 2010. Okah pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied being the leader of the militant group Mend, which claimed responsibility at the time. Johannesburg High Court Judge Neels Claassen said "I have come to the conclusion that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused," South African prosecutor Shaun Abrahams told AP that Okah is likely to face life imprisonment. He said South Africa worked closely with foreign law enforcement agencies "to make...
A Bangladeshi court sentenced a Muslim cleric, Abul Kalam Azad, to death for crimes against humanity, committed during the war of independence in 1971. The cleric, believed to be in Pakistan, was found guilty in absentia. The prosecution asserted he had shot dead six Hindus and raped Hindu women during the war. The trial has drawn criticism however, with some saying the court is not endorsed by the UN and the charges brought against the cleric are politically motivated.
Former dictator of Chad, Hissene Habre is to face a trial for crimes against humanity in Senegal next month, announced Senegal's justice minister. Justice Minister Aminata Toure made the announcement this week after Senegal’s parliament voted to host the special tribunal, authorised by the African Union. The initiative has been hailed as a step forward in African countries taking the lead in prosecuting war criminals from the continent, with Belgium offering to help finance the cost of this trial. Habre faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, from when he ruled Chad in 1982...