War crimes complaint filed against Deby at same court trying Habre: On Thursday 3 September 2015 the Extraordinary African Chambers, the Senegalese court where Hissene Habre is also being tried, said that a complaint that Chad’s President, Idriss Deby, was made. The plaintiffs, who are Chadians accused President Deby of having tortured and executed prisoners of war when he was a rebel commander, according to lawyer Mibaye Jacques Ndiaye. Legal experts reportedly said, however, that the court’s founding statutes appeared to bar it from taking any action against the president. (Yahoo! News)
ICC Prosecution monitoring Kenya lawyer on suspicion of influencing witnesses: ICC Prosecution is monitoring a Kenyan lawyer suspected of improperly influencing prosecution witnesses in the case against Deputy President William Ruto. According to ICC documents, the man has been falsely presenting himself as a defence lawyer for Ruto despite a cease-and-desist warning from the DP’s legal team. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda reportedly said she has established the existence of “an organized and effective scheme” to persuade prosecution witnesses to withdraw. Ruto’s lead counsel Karim Kham stated that the lawyer accused of influencing witnesses “ha[s] absolutely no involvement [with] my team nor ha[s he] been tasked directly or indirectly by DP William Ruto.” (all Africa)
ECCC defense teams confirm abstention of document presentation: Both the Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea defence teams confirmed Thursday 3 September 2015 that they would abstain from making document presentations. The confirmation came a day after the trial chamber ruled that the prosecution’s use of written witness statements was permissible over the objection of the defence. Samphan defender Anita Guisse also said that her side will be providing commentary feedback to the prosecution’s use of statements, although, Chea’s defender, Victor Koppe said “no, we will not”. The defence teams walked out of court on 26 August 2015 in protest over the admission of written records of interviews as documentary evidence. (The Phnom Penh Post)
ICC accused Pres Bashir and SA Pres Zuma meet in China over ICC issues: On Thursday 3 September 2015 Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir held talks with South African president Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of the WWII celebrations in Bejing. Bashir and Zuma agreed on a plan to confront challenges facing Africa, including the issue of the ICC. According to state media the report did not elaborate on what they decided in terms of the ICC. The two leaders also discussed the crisis in South Sudan and efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to reach lasting peace. (Sudan Tribune)
UN HR Council report criticises failure to protect Syrian refugees: On Thursday, 3 September 2015 UN Human Rights council investigators submitted their 10th report on the conflict in Syria. The report said there is “no end” in sight, and “[a]s the world stands witness, the Syrian people are suffering to an unimaginable extent”. The report charts the major trends and patterns in which combatants have targeted civilian communities, groups and individuals and subjected them to international human rights and humanitarian law violations. The report emphasises the need for concerted and sustained international action to find a political solution to end the violence and to stop the rampancy of war crimes and grave violations of human rights. The report was based on 335 interviews with victims and witnesses. For more information on this issue please click here. (DW, UN Press Release) For the full report please click here. (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
Swedish citizen charged over Rwanda genocide by Swedish Prosecutors: On Friday, 4 September 2015, a 60-year-old Swedish citizen was charged in Stockholm for genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The man was not identified, but Swedish prosecutors said he had a lower-level leadership role in the mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutus by members of the Hutu majority in Rwanda. Tora Holst, chief prosecutor at the International Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm said in a statement “Just as during the first Rwanda trial, we are making clear that Sweden will not be a safe haven for those suspected of being war criminals and perpetrators of genocide. (International Business Times)
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