www.ictj.org
July 31, 2003
HEADLINES
Argentina: Kirchner Overturns
Ban on Extraditions
Bosnia: Experts Begin
Exhumation at Large Mass Grave, Other New Graves Found; Former Police
Commander Pleads Guilty
Democratic Republic of Congo:
ICC Likely to Open First Case on DR Congo
Guatemala: Rios Montt Fights
for Candidacy Bid
Iraq: Governing Council to
Establish Judicial Commission
Kosovo: ICTY Convicts Four
Kosovar Albanians
Liberia: Truth Commission in
Liberia Proposed
Rwanda: UN Considering
Replacing Chief Prosecutor
International Criminal Court:
South Africa Will Not Sign Immunity Agreement With U.S.
ARGENTINA
Kirchner Overturns Ban on Extraditions
July 26, 2003
President Nestor Kirchner has overturned a ban on the extradition of former military officers who face human rights trials abroad. His move comes a day after a federal judge ordered the arrest of 45 former officers and one civilian lawyer, all sought by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon for crimes committed during the 1976-1983 Argentine “Dirty War.” The extradition requests will now move through regular legal channels. President Kirchner also has stated that Argentina should repeal the amnesty laws that have allowed perpetrators from the “Dirty War” period to avoid prosecution.
See: AP, Argentina
OKs ‘Dirty War’ Extraditions
Washington Post, Argentine Leader Pledges More Reforms
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BOSNIA
Experts Begin Exhumation at Large Mass Grave, Other New Graves Found
July 25, 2003
Forensic experts have started exhumation at what is probably the largest mass grave found to date in Bosnia. The site is a secondary grave--the remains have been moved from earlier graves to avoid detection. Located near the Serbian border at Crni Vrh, or Black Peak, it may contain the remains of up to 700 Muslim men and boys, many of whom were killed in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre. The grave was discovered two years ago and kept secret to avoid possible disturbance at the site. Forensic experts have also discovered two mass graves near the Bosnian town of Zapce. The graves contained the remains of 80 people, likely Muslims killed by Bosnian Croat forces in 1993. The oldest was an 80-year-old man and the youngest a 40-day-old baby.
See: BBC, ‘Biggest’ Bosnia grave being opened
Herald Sun, Mass
graves found in Bosnia
AP, Mass
Grave With 76 Bodies Found in Bosnia
Former Police Commander Pleads Guilty
July 27, 2003
A former Bosnian Serb police commander has pled guilty to war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Prosecutors agreed to drop one charge against Darko Mrdja in exchange for his guilty plea on charges of murder and a count of crimes against humanity related to the 1992 massacre of 228 Muslim men near Vlasic Mountain in eastern Bosnia.
See: AP, Ex-Bosnian
Serb Commander Pleads Guilty
New York Times, In a Startling Plea, a Serbian Policeman Confesses to Atrocities
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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DEMOCRATIC REPBULIC OF CONGO
ICC Likely to Open First Case on DR Congo
July 20, 2003
Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced that the ICC is likely to open its first case by investigating those responsible for human rights abuses in Ituri in eastern Congo. Because the prosecutor’s office is seeking to open the case, Moreno Ocampo must first get the approval of a pretrial chamber of three judges.
See: New York Times, Court Likely to Take Up Congo First
The Guardian, Genocide court sets sights on Congo conflict
Voice of America, New International Criminal Court Could Hear Congo Slaughter Case
IRIN, DRC:
International Criminal Court targets Ituri
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GUATEMALA
Rios Montt Fights for Candidacy Bid
July 27, 2003
Earlier this month, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court ruled
that former dictator Efrain Rios Montt could run as a candidate in the November
presidential elections despite a law banning anyone who has taken part in a
coup from running. The law was formalized in the 1985 constitution, and Rios
Montt, who seized power in 1982, argued that the ban could not be applied
retroactively. Rios Montt has been accused of ordering the massacres of
thousands of indigenous Guatemalans during his dictatorship. The court, which
came under heavy criticism for the decision, is stacked with allies of Rios
Montt and of the current president, Alfonso Portillo. Thousands of Guatemalans
protested the decision on the streets of the capital, and soon afterward the
Supreme Court suspended Rios Montt’s registration to run for president.
Thousands of Rios Montt supporters then gathered in violent demonstrations,
calling for him to be allowed to run. Today, the Constitutional Court ruled that Ríos Montt does have the
right to run for president in the elections using the argument that the law
could not be applied retroactively, ordered that he be registered as a
candidate, and stated that there could be no further appeals.
See: Reuters, Guatemala
Court Lets Ex-Dictator Run for President
Reuters, Guatemalans
Protest Former Dictator’s Candidacy
AFP, Guatemalan
Supreme Court suspends Rios Montt election bid
AP, Guatemala
Protesters Go Home After Pleas
New York Times, Ex-Dictator Can Run
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IRAQ
Governing Council to Establish Judicial Commission
July 20, 2003
The
Governing Council in Iraq, a U.S.-backed, 25-member body formed to represent
Iraqis, has announced that it will set up a judicial commission to make recommendations
on a legal framework to try Saddam Hussein and his top officials for crimes
against humanity and genocide. Judge Dara Nor al Din, one of the members of the
Governing Council, will chair the commission. In related news, a museum has
opened in northern Iraq to commemorate the lives of Kurdish political prisoners
who were tortured or died under the Saddam Hussein regime. The museum contains
statues of some of the prisoners, a permanent war photo exhibition, and an
archive of pictures and documents seized by Kurdish guerrillas in the 1991
uprising.
See: Reuters, New
Iraq War Crimes Court to Try Saddam, Aides
New York Times, Iraqis Plan War-Crime Court; G.I.’s to Stay Until Elections
The Guardian, Saddam regime will be tried for war crimes, party reveals
Baghdad Bulletin, First
war crimes museum opens
For ICTJ’s policy recommendations on the Iraqi
transition, see Transitional
Justice in Iraq: An ICTJ Policy Paper.
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KOSOVO
ICTY Convicts Four Kosovar Albanians
July 18, 2003
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has convicted and sentenced four Kosovar Albanians for atrocities committed as rebel commanders during the 1998-1999 war against Yugoslav forces. Rustem Mustafa and three associates under his command were found guilty of ordering killings, illegal arrests, and torture of other ethnic Albanians suspected of collaborating with Slobodan Milosevic’s Serb-dominated government. Sentences ranged from 5 to 17 years. The convictions are the first the ICTY has issued for the rebel side of the conflict.
See: Reuters, 4 Top Rebels Convicted Of Kosovo Atrocities
Please see “Bosnia” (above) for links to more
information about the ICTY.
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LIBERIA
Truth Commission in Liberia Proposed
July 19, 2003
The Economic Community of West African States has drafted a proposal to end the fighting in Liberia. Included in the proposal are calls to establish a truth commission, ban current government and rebel leaders from high office in a transitional government, and develop a military from among the warring forces.
See: AP, Liberian
Plan Offers Transitional Gov’t
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RWANDA
UN Considering Replacing Chief Prosecutor
July 26, 2003
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is considering replacing Carla Del Ponte as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) when her term comes up for renewal in September. At issue are the slow pace of the trials at the ICTR, the safety and anonymity of witnesses, and clashes between Del Ponte and the Rwandan government over efforts to investigate abuses by the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Army, who stopped the 1994 genocide and took power. The final decision on the matter rests with the UN Security Council. Del Ponte is expected to remain in her other position as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
See: Reuters, UN
Poised to Replace Del Ponte at Rwanda Tribunal
AP, Annan
Weighs Replacing Rwanda Prosecutor
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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
South Africa Will Not Sign Immunity Agreement With U.S.
July 25, 2003
The South African government has announced that it will not enter into an agreement with the United States to provide U.S. troops with immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The U.S. has suspended military aid to South Africa and several other countries because they failed to sign immunity agreements.
See: BuaNews (Pretoria), SA Won’t Indemnify US Troops From ICC Prosecutions
See also “Democratic Republic of Congo,” above, for
information on a likely ICC case related to atrocities in Ituri, DR Congo.
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Editor: Patrick J. Pierce
Patrick J. Pierce serves as a consultant to the ICTJ.
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