The International Center for Transitional Justice
www.ictj.org

Transitional Justice in the News

November 15, 2004

HEADLINES

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian Serb Authorities Apologize for Srebrenica Massacre

Chile: Report Issued on Pinochet-Era Abuses

Iraq: Key Evidence of Human Rights Violations Lost

Peru: Shining Path Trial Suspended After Defendants Disrupt Proceedings

Rwanda: Prosecution Closes Case in Butare Trial

Serbia and Montenegro: Judges Rule Milosevic Can Defend Himself

Sierra Leone: Witnesses Give Startling Testimony at Special Court

Timor-Leste: Former Governor Released on Appeal

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnian Serb Authorities Apologize for Srebrenica Massacre

November 11, 2004

The government of Republika Srpska has formally apologized to the relatives of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys who were killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. The apology comes after an internal report by a special commission acknowledged the severity of the massacre. The authorities also stated their commitment to bringing those responsible for the massacre to justice, although the Bosnian Serb Republic is the only territory of the former Yugoslavia that has yet to arrest a single war crimes suspect.

See: New York Times, Bosnian Serbs Apologize for Srebrenica Massacre

BBC, Serbs sorry for Srebrenica deaths

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CHILE

Report Issued on Pinochet-Era Abuses

November 11, 2004

An official report has been issued by a commission headed by Mons. Valech about the use of torture during the Pinochet years. This study complements the Rettig Report, which excluded torture unless it resulted in death (and was criticized for it). It is also important because it is based on testimonies from about 35,000 torture victims, thereby refuting Pinochet’s claim that, if torture was committed at all it was a matter of “excesses” by a few subordinates. The report, which has not yet been made public, was delivered to President Ricardo Lagos. In related news, the Chilean army has assumed responsibility for human rights violations committed during the Pinochet era.

See: AP, Chile Issues Report on Pinochet Torture

AP, Chilean Army Admits Pinochet-Era Abuses

BBC, Chile army admits rights abuses

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IRAQ

Key Evidence of Human Rights Violations Lost

November 5, 2004

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, evidence of human rights violations committed under Saddam Hussein’s regime has been lost or tainted because U.S.-led coalition forces failed to secure relevant sites after the invasion. Thousands of documents were looted from government buildings, and families of the disappeared disturbed human remains in mass graves, damaging much of the potential forensic evidence. The success of any future trial would depend on solid documentary and forensic evidence.

See: BBC, Key Saddam trial evidence “lost”

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PERU

Shining Path Trial Suspended After Defendants Disrupt Proceedings

November 9, 2004

The trial of Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán and other top commanders of his insurgent group was suspended after the defendants disrupted the proceeding by shouting slogans in favor of armed struggle. The judge ordered a recess and asked journalists to leave the viewing gallery. Guzmán was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992 by a military court, but Peru’s Constitutional Court overturned the sentence after it determined that the secretive military court was illegal. The new trial is being held in a courtroom in a maximum security prison west of Lima.

See: BBC, Shining Path retrial suspended

New York Times, Peru Tightens Prison Security After Outburst at Rebels’ Trial

Reuters, Peru Names Official to Clear Up Guzman Trial Mess

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RWANDA

Prosecution Closes Case in Butare Trial

November 10, 2004

The prosecution has finished presenting evidence in the “Butare” trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The trial groups together six people accused of genocide in the southern province of Butare, including former Minister of Gender Pauline Nyiramasuhuko. The prosecution has presented almost 60 witnesses. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case in early 2005.

See: Hirondelle, Prosecutor Closes His Case in ‘Butare’ Trial

Hirondelle, Largest Genocide Trial So Far Concludes

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SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

Judges Rule Milosevic Can Defend Himself

November 2, 2004

Appeals court judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have ruled that former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic can lead his trial defense. They also ruled that two court-assigned lawyers would remain involved in the case. In other news at the ICTY, Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has requested for the first time that a case be transferred to judicial authorities in Serbia and Montenegro. In that case, Vladimir Kovacevic faces six charges related to the 1991 shelling of the Croatian town of Dubrovnik.

See: BBC, Milosevic wins new defence rights

Reuters, Milosevic Wins Back Right to Lead Own Trial Defense

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Hague Ready To Hand First War Crime Case To Serbia

For more detailed weekly updates on the ICTY, please see Tribunal Update by The Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the UN Public Information Services’ ICTY Weekly Update, and the Coalition for International Justice's Latest Reports. See also the International Center for Transitional Justice/Bard College’s audio/video archive of the Milosevic trial.

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SIERRA LEONE

Witnesses Give Startling Testimony at Special Court

November 10, 2004

Witnesses at the Special Court for Sierra Leone have given startling testimony about human rights violations committed by various factions in the civil war there. Witnesses have testified about combatants burning civilians alive, summarily executing individuals, and eating human flesh.

See: The Independent, Ex-Combatant Reveals That They Ate Human Flesh During the War

The Independent, Rebels ‘Burnt’ Civilians Alive, Pro-Government Militia Summarily Executed Them

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TIMOR-LESTE

Former Governor Released on Appeal

November 6, 2004

An appeals court in Jakarta has overturned the guilty verdict of Abilio Soares, the last Indonesian governor of Timor-Leste, on charges of crimes against humanity. A court had previously determined that as governor, Soares failed to prevent the violence that wracked Timor-Leste in the lead-up to the 1999 vote for independence. Indonesia’s human rights tribunal has come under fire both domestically and internationally for the ruling, as all but one of the 18 people put on trial for the 1999 violence in Timor-Leste have been acquitted.

See: BBC, Ex-East Timor governor acquitted

AFP, Anger as E.Timor’s last Indonesian governor acquitted of rights abuses

CBC, Indonesia overturns war-crimes conviction

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Editor: Patrick J. Pierce

Patrick J. Pierce serves as a consultant to the ICTJ.

This semimonthly newsletter summarizes major news events in the field of transitional justice. To unsubscribe, please e-mail unsubscribe@ictj.org. To subscribe, please send an e-mail request to communications@ictj.org.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved. It provides comparative information, legal and policy analysis, documentation, and strategic research to justice and truth-seeking institutions, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and others. The ICTJ assists in the development of strategies for transitional justice comprising five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators, documenting violations through nonjudicial means such as truth commissions, reforming abusive institutions, providing reparations to victims, and advancing reconciliation. The Center is committed to building local capacity and generally strengthening the emerging field of transitional justice, and works closely with organizations and experts around the world to do so.

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