PILPG Logo Case School of Law Logo War Crimes Prosecution Watch Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Hassan FREDERICK K. COX Volume 14 - Issue 09 INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER June 08, 2019 Technical Editor-in-Chief Kurt Harris Founder/Advisor Michael P. Scharf Managing Editors Gloria Neilson Faculty Advisor Mary Preston Jim Johnson War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email [email protected] and type "subscribe" in the subject line. Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group. Contents AFRICA NORTH AFRICA Libya Haftar’s forces kidnap women in Derna, eastern Libya (The Libya Observer) UNHCR secures release of 96 detainees from Libya’s Zintan detention centre (UNHCR) Lawyers sue EU for migrant deaths, atrocities at Libyan torture houses (Business Standard) CENTRAL AFRICA Central African Republic CAR’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins work (Journal du Cameroun) Armed group in C. Africa agrees to remove barricades (Journal du Cameroun) Sudan & South Sudan 35 Dead as Sudan Troops Move Against Democracy Protesters (The Associated Press) South Sudan: Government Forces Abusing Civilians (Human Rights Watch) Hemeti - the warlord who may control Sudan’s future (BBC) Democratic Republic of the Congo WEST AFRICA Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Lake Chad Region — Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon Cameroonian soldiers accused of killing baby as family flees (The Guardian) Mali UN report calls for maintaining Mali mission, bolstering Mopti deployment (TheDefensePost) Liberia Liberia: ‘General Mosquito’ Issues Disclaimer on Woewiyu U.S. Indictment (Front Page Africa) EAST AFRICA Uganda Kenya Rwanda MICT prosecutor calls for global action against Genocide denial (The New Times) Resettlement of Rwandan rebels labelled a 'frustrating' hypocrisy (The Guardian) Somalia Somalia's frightening network of Islamist spies (BBC News) Diplomatic tensions between Kenya, Somalia spike in wake of maritime dispute (IOL) EUROPE Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber Bosnian war-crimes suspect detained in Romania (The Republic) Joint Statement by National War Crimes Prosecutor's Offices and UN Mechanism Chieg Prosecutor Following Regional Conference (UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals) International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Ahead Of Possible Release, Kosovar Victims' Family Fears Hero Status For Serbian War Criminal (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty) Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia Montenegro Convicts Ex-Soldier of Kosovo War Crime (Balkan Insight) Kosovo’s Push for ‘Serbian Genocide’ Tribunal ‘Likely to Fail’ (Balkan Insight) Croatian General Pleads Not Guilty in New War Crimes Trial (Balkan Insight) Turkey Turkey Still Fears NATO, US Military Buildup in Greece (The National Herald) MIDDLE-EAST Iraq HRW condemns France 'outsourcing' of IS trials to Iraq (France 24) 3 PKK militants neutralized in N Iraq: Defense Ministry (Hurriyet Daily News) Iraq: Series of deadly explosions hit Kirkuk (Aljazeera) Iraq: French Citizens Allege Torture, Coercion (Human Rights Watch) IS fight: US-led coalition says it killed 1,300 civilians in Syria and Iraq (BBC News) Syria Huge Wave of Syrians Flee Intensified Bombing on Last Rebel-Held Province (New York Times) In Syria, Even the Hospitals Are Not Safe (New York Times) Syria: Urgent, concrete actions needed, to protect children too young to ‘make sense of this senseless war’ (UN News) Yemen Iran still supplying Houthis with ballistic missiles in Yemen, coalition says (The National) Trump presses UAE on alleged human rights abuses in Yemen (Al-Monitor) Special Tribunal for Lebanon Israel & Palestine Palestinian families ordered to leave homes in Jordan Valley for military drills (WAFA) Israel Has Support in its War Crimes Debate with ICC - Analysis (Jerusalem Post) Facing the Facts: Israel Cannot Escape ICC Jurisdiction (Foreign Policy Journal) Gulf Region Trump Considers Emergency to Bypass Congress on Saudi Arms Deal (Bloomberg) France: Authorities must stop arms-laden ship of shame bound for Saudi Arabia (Amnesty International) ASIA Afghanistan Trump Administration To Grant Pardons For Military War Crimes (The Organization for World Peace) Taliban attack Afghanistan world heritage site, killing security forces (Defense Post) Hope dwindles for cease-fire in Afghanistan at end of Ramadan (Washington Post) Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen Dismisses Calls For Resignation, Vows to ‘Wage War’ on Opposition (The Cambodia Daily) Pre-Trial Chamber to Hear Arguments of Parties In Case 004/2 (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia) Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal Crime against humanity: Evidence found against three Feni men (The Daily Star) War Crimes Investigations in Myanmar Myanmar military accused of fresh war crimes in Rakhine (BBC) AI accuses Myanmar of fresh ‘war crimes’ (The Independent) New Round of War Crimes by Myanmar Military in Rakhine State (The New Leam) For Rohingya Refugees, There’s No Return in Sight (Huan Rights Watch) AMERICAS North & Central America El Salvador wartime parties suspend controversial amnesty bill (Reuters) Navy SEAL Accused of War Crimes Released Ahead of Murder Trial (Democracy Now) South America Corruption Leaves Ecuador’s Prisoners Facing Precarious Conditions (Insight Crime) What Colombia Can Teach Us About Afghanistan (The Diplomat) Colombia: Authorities Capture Financier of ELN Terror Attack in Bogota (Panam Post) Venezuela In Venezuela, criminals feel the pinch of an economic crisis (ABC News) Can a Pardon Be a War Crime? When Pardons Themselves Violate the Laws of War (Just Security) Increasing Pressure on Venezuela’s Government (Human Rights Watch) TOPICS Truth and Reconciliation Commission Starting the Accountability Process: Liberian Lawyers Draft Bill for Establishing War Crimes Court (Front Page Africa) “TRC Went to Court, Left Court for Palaver Hut” (Liberian Daily Observer) Challenges before The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Daily News) Conflict-era sexual violence victims yet to be identified (The Himalayan Times) Terrorism French ISIS Supporters on Death Row in Iraq Ask for Mercy (New York Times) RCMP explores crimes against humanity charges for Canadian ISIS members (Global News) U.S. Should Not Repeat its Post 9/11 Counter-terrorism Mistakes in Sri Lanka (International Policy Digest) Piracy Japan expands military presence in Africa despite drop in Somalia piracy (The Defense Post) Indian Navy steps up anti-piracy patrol (The Hindu) Gender-Based Violence Commentary and Perspectives The Role of the International Criminal Court (Council on Foreign Affairs) WORTH READING War Crimes and Just War Theory: Tom Dannenbaum AFRICA NORTH AFRICA Libya Haftar’s forces kidnap women in Derna, eastern Libya (The Libya Observer) By Abdulkader Assad May 27, 2019 Khalifa Haftar's forces stormed Monday dawn the house of Al-Bahbah family in western Shiha area in Derna and kidnapped three women, a source from the city in eastern Libya said. The source, who asked to be unnamed, added that Haftar's forces, including a person named Al-Amin Al-Fakhiri, broke into the house and robbed it - taking gold and money. The source indicated that daily life conditions after Haftar's forces control on the city in last summer as an "open prison" as Haftar's opponents cannot do anything in the city, even when their houses get raided at night for their opposition. Last week, Haftar's forces kidnapped three women from Bin Khayal family and took them to an unknown location after storming their house in Derna. Interior Security Directorate of Haftar's so-called general command - most of them are from Gaddafi's regime - and notorious Awliya Al-Dam (Blood Owners) brigade have been doing kidnaps and assaults on families in Derna under the pretext of having their sons being part of Derna Shura Council. UNHCR secures release of 96 detainees from Libya’s Zintan detention centre (UNHCR) June 4, 2019 Ninety-six people were yesterday relocated to safety from the Zintan detention centre in Libya’s Tripoli to a Gathering and Departure Facility. The group were from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and included two newborn babies. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is providing the group with food, shelter, medical assistance including psycho-social support, as well as clothes, shoes, hygiene kits and blankets. They will remain at the facility while they await evacuation outside the country. Conditions in Zintan are dire. Living areas are severely overcrowded and lack proper ventilation. In some parts of the centre, toilets are overflowing and are in urgent need of repair. As a result, solid waste and garbage has piled up inside the cell for days and presents a serious health threat. Tensions amongst the detainees are rising as they become increasingly agitated and desperate. In total, 654 refugees and migrants remain held in Zintan. All available options must be immediately pursued to release the remaining detainees. With no detention centre in Tripoli currently suitable for hosting refugees and migrants, in part due to the ongoing hostilities, UNHCR reiterates its call to the international