www.ictj.org
June 15, 2003
HEADLINES
Argentina:
Mexico to Extradite Argentine to Spain
Bosnia:
New Mass Grave Found
Cambodia:
One Step Closer to Khmer Rouge Trial
Guatemala:
Helen Mack Files Appeal
Iraq:
Mass Grave Found South of Baghdad
Kenya:
Women Link Justice and Reconciliation
Serbia
& Montenegro: Lustration Law Passed; Milosevic Security Chief Arrives at
The Hague
Sierra
Leone: War Crimes Court Indicts Liberian President Charles Taylor
ARGENTINA
Mexico to Extradite Argentine to Spain
June 11, 2003
The Mexican Supreme Court has ordered the extradition of Ricardo Cavallo, a former Argentine military official, to Spain, where Judge Baltasar Garzón has accused him of terrorism and genocide. Cavallo allegedly worked in the notorious School of Naval Mechanics during Argentina’s 1976-1983 “Dirty War.”
See: Reuters, Mexico
to Extradite ‘Dirty War’ Argentine to Spain
BBC, Argentine faces ‘dirty war’ trial
IPS, Mexican
Court to Extradite Alleged Argentine Torturer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOSNIA
New Mass Grave Found
June 5, 2003
Forensic experts have exhumed human remains of more than 100 bodies from a newly discovered mass grave in eastern Bosnia. They believe the remains are those of Muslims killed by Serb forces in the early 1990s. The forensic team said the remains were first buried in another location, then dug up and moved to avoid detection.
See: AP, Experts
Find New Mass Grave in Bosnia
Reuters, Remains
of Bosnian Victims Exhumed from Mass Grave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAMBODIA
One Step Closer to Khmer Rouge Trial
June 7, 2003
Cambodia and the United Nations have signed an agreement to establish extraordinary legal chambers in the Cambodian judicial system, paving the way for a trial of Khmer Rouge leaders. Sok An, who signed the agreement for the Cambodian government, said he expected Cambodia to establish the chambers later this year.
See: Reuters, Khmer
Rouge Trial Moves Step Closer with U.N. Deal
AFP, UN
and Cambodia sign historic deal for Khmer Rouge trial
BBC, UN and Cambodia sign court deal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUATEMALA
Helen Mack Files Appeal
June 1, 2003
Helen Mack, sister of slain activist Myrna Mack, has asked the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice to overturn an appeals court ruling that freed her sister’s suspected killer, Col. Juan Valencia. A lower court found that Valencia had ordered Myrna Mack’s killing, but an appeals court ruled last month that there was not sufficient evidence and ordered Valencia freed. If Mack’s appeal fails, she can petition the Constitutional Court, Guatemala’s highest court, to hear the case.
See: AP, Slain
Activist’s Sister Appeals Reversal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IRAQ
Mass Grave Found South of Baghdad
June 8, 2003
Another mass grave has been found in Iraq, just south of Baghdad, and relatives have begun excavating the site. Local residents claim the victims were killed earlier this year. Forensic experts are worried that family members searching for loved ones are disturbing evidence that could be used for trials. (The BBC link below contains a list of mass graves found to date.)
See: BBC, New Mass Grave Found in Iraq
AP,
Iraqis
Search for Kin in Mass Graves
Washington Post, Experts Say Mass Grave in Iraq Is Recent
For ICTJ’s policy
recommendations on the Iraqi transition, see Transitional
Justice in Iraq: An ICTJ Policy Paper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KENYA
Women Link Justice and Reconciliation
June 3, 2003
Last month, the Federation of Women Lawyers and Urgent Action Fund, a women’s rights lobby group, held a consultation on Kenya’s proposed Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). Women who spoke at the event emphasized that reconciliation in Kenyan society will be difficult to achieve without a process for gaining both truth and justice. An 18-member task force is now working to determine the viability of the proposed TJRC, and the government is expecting their recommendations in August of this year.
See: African Church Information Service, Women Say Yes to Reconciliation, But After Justice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SERBIA & MONTENEGRO
Lustration Law Passed
June 2, 2003
The Serbian Parliament has passed a lustration law that bars violators of human rights from holding public office over the next ten years. The Parliament will appoint a nine-member committee by the end of July to carry out the process of investigating whether incumbent or future public officials have violated human rights since 1976.
See: Serbia Info, Serbia passes Law on lustration
Transitions Online, Serbia To Punish 30-Year-Old Crimes
Milosevic Security Chief Arrives at The Hague
June 12, 2003
Jovica Stanisic, former
head of Serbia’s secret police under Slobodan Milosevic, has arrived at The
Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Stanisic was arrested in Serbia in
March in connection with the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic,
and the ICTY unsealed its indictment against him during his detention. The
indictment includes an accusation that the former secret police head was
involved in the massacre of more than 200 hospital patients during fighting in
Vuvokar, Croatia, in 1991.
See: BBC, Milosevic security chief flies to Hague
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SIERRA LEONE
War Crimes Court Indicts Liberian President Charles Taylor
June 6, 2003
The Special Court for Sierra Leone, a United Nations-backed judicial body to prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes, has indicted Liberian President Charles Taylor, placing responsibility on him for years of murder, mutilations, and rape. Taylor was in Ghana attending peace talks when the indictment was made public, and he quickly caught a plane back to Liberia rather than face possible arrest in Ghana. Taylor is the second serving head of state, after Slobodan Milosevic, to be indicted for war crimes charges in the last decade.
See: AFP, Liberian
president charged with war crimes by SLeone court
AP, U.N.-Backed
Court Indicts Liberia Leader
BBC, Arrest warrant for Liberian leader
New York Times, War Crimes Indictment of Liberian President Is Disclosed
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Editor: Patrick J. Pierce
Patrick J. Pierce
serves as a consultant to the ICTJ.
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