The
www.ictj.org
October 1, 2006
Issue
HEADLINES
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Key Witness in
Etchecolatz Case Disappears
September 25,
2006
A key witness in the
trial against Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz disappeared shortly after delivering
crucial testimony that helped lead to the former police officer’s conviction.
Jorge Luis Lopez—a 77-year-old survivor of Argentina’s brutal
‘dirty war’ era—went missing September 19th, just hours
before Etchecolatz was formally sentenced to life in prison. The trial was the
first of its kind since June 2005, when the Argentine Supreme Court overturned
a pair of amnesty laws that had blocked prosecution of key figures in the
nation’s military junta, which ruled from 1976 to 1983. Many fear that
this disappearance is meant to send a foreboding message to potential witnesses
in forthcoming trials.
See, Associated Press, Hunt
on for Argentine Dirty War witness
Associated Press, Argentine Investigator Gets
Life
International Herald
Tribune, Police
investigator during Argentine "Dirty War" gets life sentence for
junta-era disappearances
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September 26,
2006
Tasmanian Premier
Paul Lennon announced plans to compensate Aborigines who had been forcibly
removed from their families by the government between 1900 and 1972. According
to the
See, The Sydney Morning Herald, Tasmania
to compensate stolen generation
World News
The Australian, Tassie
to Compensate Stolen Generation
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Former Politician Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison
September 27, 2006
Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted former Bosnian-Serb leader, Momcilo
Krajisnik, and sentenced him to 27 years in prison for his role in the violence
committed against civilians during the recent conflict in
See, Hague Justice Portal, Krajišnik
convicted of crimes against humanity
BBC, Profile:
Momcilo Krajisnik
BBC, Bosnia
Serb jailed for war crimes
For more detailed weekly updates on the ICTY, please see Tribunal Update by the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the U.N. Public Information Services' ICTY Weekly Update, and the
International Center for Transitional Justice/Bard College's audio/video
archive of the Milosevic trial.
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War Criminal Nabbed Six Decades after Conviction
September 28, 2006
A former police
captain for the Hungarian army has been identified and confronted for his role
in the World War II “
See, International Herald Tribune, Nazi hunters
identify convicted war criminal
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Saddam Trial
Adjourned after Chaotic Week
September 26,
2006
The trial of Saddam
Hussein and six co-defendants, on charges of genocide and crimes against
humanity, has been adjourned until October 9th due to several disruptions in
the proceedings. Saddam Hussein was ejected from the court after staging
shouting matches with new chief judge, Mohammed al-Uraibiy, whose
brother-in-law was gunned down days after the last trial adjourned.
Hussein’s defense team boycotted portions of the latest round of
proceedings, charging that the court was violating judicial procedures. The
adjournment was called to allow the defendants time to secure new
representation in case their lawyers continue to boycott the trial.
See, Associated Press, Saddam
Trial Adjourned Until October
BBC, Saddam judge relative
shot dead
Xinhua, Saddam
Hussein trial adjourned until Oct. 9
Aljazeera, توتر
وفوضى
بمحاكمة
الأنفال
وتأجيلها للشهر
المقبل
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TRC Starts Workshops
for Liberian Diaspora in the
September 22,
2006
Members of the
Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) initiated a campaign to
promote the active involvement of the U.S.-based Liberian Diaspora community in
the Commission’s truth-seeking work. In collaboration with the Minnesota
Advocates for Human Rights—and with technical assistance from the
International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)—Commissioner Massa
Washington, head of the TRC’s Diaspora Committee, conducted two days of
training and outreach in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 29th and 30th.
Similar workshops will take place in October in other American cities with
large Liberian Diaspora communities, including Staten Island and
See, Running Africa, Truth
Commission to begin workshops for Diaspora hearings
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Reparations Sought for 1906 German Atrocities
September 20, 2006
The Namibian parliament is considering to ratify a motion that
would demand reparations from the German government for a massacre that killed
tens of thousands of native Namibians more than a century ago. The motion—filed
by Herero Chief Kuaima Riruako in mid-September—calls on
See, All
Mail and Guardian, Namibia
refuses to sign colonial reparations deal
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Former Lawyer on Trial for Genocide
September 25, 2006
The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) has charged a former Rwandan deputy prosecutor with genocide,
extermination, and violation of the
See, BBC, Lawyer goes on trial for
genocide
Independent Online, UN
court starts genocide trial
Reuters, U.N. court starts
trial of Rwandan ex-prosecutor
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ICC and Museveni Agree Indictments Should Stay in Place
September 26, 2006
Following the latest round of negotiations between leaders
from the rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and Ugandan
representatives in southern Sudan, the chief prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled out the possibility of dropping arrest warrants
for key LRA leaders and President Museveni has agreed that he will not seek to
change their status until a comprehensive peace deal has been signed. The Court
has reiterated its stance that crimes alleged to have been committed by the LRA
cannot go unpunished and that their pursuit of top LRA leadership does not
necessarily hinder possibilities for peace. In August, LRA leaders signed a
cease-fire agreement with the government of
See, Reuters, ICC says Uganda
crimes will go on without arrests
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UNITED STATES
Federal Court Hears Appeal on Landmark Slavery Reparations
Case
September 28, 2006
Reparations advocates and their attorneys asked a federal
appeals court in
International Herald Tribune, Slave
descendants attempt to revive reparations lawsuit against 17 insurers and banks
Chicago Sun-Times, Court
hears appeal of reparations suit
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