The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ICC

  • Rebel jailed nine years for Timbuktu destruction

    War crimes judges on Tuesday sentenced a former Islamist rebel who admitted wrecking holy shrines during Mali’s 2012 conflict to nine years in prison, in the first such case to focus on destruction of cultural heritage.

    During a brief trial at the International Criminal Court in August Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an “evil wave” by al Qaeda and the Ansar Dine Islamist groups that briefly seized control of the ancient sites.

    In June and July 2012 “10 of the most important and well-known sites in Timbuktu were attacked and destroyed in a war activity aimed at breaking the soul of the people,” Reuters quoted the presiding Judge, Raul Pangalangan, as saying on Tuesday.

    Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of nine to 11 years for al-Mahdi, who sat quietly in a gray suit, nodding as the verdict was read aloud.

    Judges said the sentence took into account al-Mahdi’s expression of remorse and cooperation with the court.

    Al-Mahdi admitted to involvement in the destruction of key historic mausoleums and religious sites in Timbuktu dating from Mali’s 14th-century golden age as a trading hub and centre of Sufi Islam, a branch of the religion seen as idolatrous by some hardline Muslim groups.

  • ICC to rule on rebel’s destruction of Timbuktu shrines

    International war crimes judges are expected to rule on Tuesday in the case of a former Islamist rebel who pleaded guilty to wrecking holy shrines during Mali’s 2012 conflict and apologised for the damage he cause in Timbuktu.

    It is the first case at the International Criminal Court focusing on cultural destruction as a war crime, Reuters reported.

    During a two-day trial in August, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an “evil wave” by al Qaeda and the Ansar Dine Islamist groups that briefly seized control of the ancient sites.

    As part of a plea agreement the prosecution and the defence requested a sentence of between nine and 11 years in prison. However, the judges are free to ignore the recommendation and hand down a sentence of up to 30 years.

    Mahdi has admitted to charges of involvement in the destruction of historic mausoleums in the city. Prosecutors said he led a group of religious police using pick-axes and crowbars to destroy nine mausoleums and the door of a mosque, and at times took part himself.

    Most of the sites dated from Mali’s 14th-century golden age as a trading hub and centre of Sufi Islam, a branch of the religion seen as idolatrous by some hardline Muslim groups.

    During the trial, prosecutor Fatou Bensouda compared the attacks to Islamic State’s smashing of monuments in the Syrian city of Palmyra and the 2001 destruction of the Afghan Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban.

    If convicted, Mahdi, who estimates his age at 45, would be the first defendant to be found guilty of Islamist-related charges by the global court.

     

  • Gbagbo’s wife goes on trial for war crimes

    Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, went on trial on Tuesday, accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes for her alleged role in a civil war that followed a 2010 presidential election and killed around 3,000 people.

    The trial, the West African nation’s first for crimes against humanity, is being held in a domestic court after the government rejected her extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Reuters reported.

    It has already drawn criticism from Gbagbo’s supporters, who claimed it is politically motivated, as well as from rights groups, who accused the prosecution of rushing the investigation.

    Her husband, ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, is already before the ICC on charges linked to the brief conflict, which was sparked by his refusal to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara in an election run-off.

    Flanked by policemen, Simone Gbagbo, a key figure in her husband’s regime, greeted several dozen cheering supporters gathered at the entrance of the court in the commercial capital Abidjan with waves and smiles.

    The prosecution said she was part of a small group of party officials from Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) that planned violence against Ouattara’s supporters to keep him out of power.

    “The FPI put in place a crisis cell in January 2011 that met at the presidential residence and constituted the organ charged with planning and organising the repression,” an indictment read in court stated.

     

  • ICC arbitration confab on investments coming

    The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Paris is partnering the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN) to host the first ICC Africa Regional Arbitration Conference in Nigeria.

    The three-day conference, which starts from June 19 to 21, will focus on the relationship between inward foreign investment in emerging markets in Africa, the types of disputes which may arise  and the African experience in resolving investment and other business disputes by arbitration.

    It will also offer a veritable platform for chief executive officers of companies investing in Africa to share their experiences in investing in Africa, as a backdrop to the subsequent discussions of the relationship between Arbitration and Investment, particularly foreign direct investment.

  • ICC to probe Burundi clashes

    The international war crimes court will investigate allegations of imprisonment and violence in Burundi, which has been wracked by unrest since a political crisis erupted a year ago.

    The office of the United Nations human rights commissioner estimates at least 430 people have been killed there since last April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza launched a bid for a third term in office and then won a disputed election in July.

    At least three armed rebel groups have since emerged in the country, Reuters reported.

    Announcing a preliminary examination, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said on Monday she had seen reports of imprisonment, torture and rape.

    “At least 3,400 people have been arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries,” she said in a statement.

    Preliminary examinations at the court, based mainly on publicly available information, can last months or years before leading to a possible full investigation. Only then can criminal charges be brought against individuals suspected of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

    Western powers and regional states fear Burundi could slide back into the ethnically charged conflict that characterised its 1993-2005 civil war.

    Opponents accuse Nkurunziza of violating Burundi’s constitution and a peace agreement that ended the civil war by running for a third term. The president and his supporters cite a court ruling that said he could run again.

    At the weekend, a Burundian army officer who had been held in captivity by a rebel group was handed back to his unit, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

    The ICC recently dropped its last case against the leaders of regional power Kenya after a fierce lobbying campaign by the country and its African allies alleging that the court unfairly singled out Africans for prosecution.

  • Anxiety as Kenyans await ICC ruling

    Anxiety as Kenyans await ICC ruling

    Kenyans across the country are anxiously waiting for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to deliver its ruling later on Tuesday on the no-case-to-answer motion filed by Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

    The ICC trio judge bench is expected to determine if Ruto and his co-accused Sang have a case to answer in relation to the 2007/2008 post election skirmishes in which more than 1,200 people were killed and over 600,000 others displaced.

    The ruling, which will be delivered at around 7 p.m. local time will determine whether Ruto who has been charged with crimes against humanity together with Sang for helping to orchestrate a wave of deadly violence after contested 2007 presidential poll.

    According to the report, the case has dragged since 2011.

    Ruto is seeking a no-case-to-answer verdict as well as an acquittal, while Sang’s defence team is pushing for a termination of the case.

    They each face three charges: murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution.

    Anxiety has gripped residents in Ruto’s home turf of Rift Valley, with majority of residents expressing hope that the two will be freed for lack of tangible evidence.

    “The moment of truth has finally come and a decision by the ICC trial chamber that will favour the defence is what we are expecting.

    “We are praying for a victory for Ruto and Sang,’’ David Soi said in a telephone from Eldoret, western Kenya.

    “Let the truth come out, I know the two are innocent, and today’s ruling will vindicate them,’’ said Aaron Mutai from Kericho, also western Kenya.

    Ruto and Sang, whose allies have held a series of meetings to strategise on how to respond to Tuesday’s ruling, have been cooperating with the court by attending court proceedings.

    The ICC trial chamber will not hold an open court session Tuesday, but will instead communicate its ruling through email to the defence parties and the media.

    The defence teams argued that the ICC Prosecutor had failed to prove that there was an organised network that masterminded the 2007/2008 Post Election Violence, and insist the skirmishes were spontaneous after a contested presidential poll outcome.

    Ruto and Sang also argued that the evidence of six key witnesses had been ruled inadmissible after they withdrew it.

    The ICC judges will either reject or accept the no-case-to-answer motion filed by the defence teams seeking to terminate their case at the prosecutor’s level.

    If the judges rule in favour of Ruto and Sang, it will mark the end of the Kenyan case at the ICC. But if they reject it, it will mean they have a case to answer.

    According to the ICC, more than 1,200 people were killed, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced in the violence that followed the December 2007 elections.

    There were also hundreds of rapes, and at least 100,000 properties were destroyed.

    Charges against Ruto and Sang were confirmed on Jan. 23, 2012, while those against President Kenyatta, ex-Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, were dropped.

     

  • Kenyan vice president wins ICC witness ruling

    International judges in the case of Kenyan Vice-President, William Ruto, have barred the use of recanted testimony.

    The decision means prior recorded witness statements cannot be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in this case, the BBC reports.

    Key witnesses in the case changed their statements, which prosecutors said was due to intimidation and bribery.

    Mr. Ruto, who is being tried over unrest that followed 2007 elections, denied charges of crimes against humanity.

    About 1,200 people were killed in the violence.

    The latest ruling overturns a previous decision by judges to allow five of the witnesses’ original statements to be included because they were convinced the witnesses had been interfered with.

  • Falana’s petition to ICC

    SIR: Renowned Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana was recently reported to have dragged certain personalities to the International Criminal Court, on the account of their involvements in what is now dubbed ‘Dasukigate’.  While the development is never unexpected of the respected learned silk who has overtime carved a niche for himself in the area of advocacy for the entrenchment of human rights, it would equally have been a commendable complement to the ongoing fight against corruption.

    However, as impressive as the audacity may seem, it only takes an in-depth study of international criminal law for one to accord a proper appraisal to the circumstance. To this end, it is essential for us to tarry a while, while we consider the propriety or otherwise of the action. The International Criminal Court was created by the Rome Statute as a permanent institution with the power to exercise its jurisdiction over persons alleged of the most serious crimes of international concern; playing a complementary role to the criminal jurisdictions of local judiciaries of member states. The court, being one of a limited criminal jurisdiction, has the extent of its jurisdiction spelt out in clear terms by the Rome Statute. It is expressly limited to the crimes of genocide, Crimes against humanity, War crimes, and the crime of aggression.

    To state the already known, Dasukigate involves an allegation that the erstwhile National Security Adviser in his magnanimity, distributed funds earmarked for arms to prosecute the fight against insurgency, among some political cronies. Now, assuming without the slightest concession that it is the position that criminal diversion of funds can be  so elasticated to fall within any of the definitions of ‘crime against humanity’, the fact of the sovereignty of member states further limits the extent of the Court’s ability to assume jurisdiction unrestrained. This informs the provision of the preamble in its paragraph 10, emphasizing that the court shall only be complementary to national criminal jurisdictions. This is further expressed in Article 17 (a) of the Statute where it states that “a case shall not be admissible by the Court where the case is being investigated or prosecuted by a state which has jurisdiction over it, unless the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution”.

    Clearly, the above provision essentially hinges the assumption of jurisdiction by the ICC on the inability or unwillingness of the municipal system to put prosecution in motion. However, unlike itself, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been up on its toes in the investigation and trial of all persons they deem deserving. This fact alone, reasonably expels all elements of unwillingness and inability on the part of Nigerian state to try the persons concerned. It is therefore wondered how the compliant under consideration can find its way into the ambit of the ICC’s jurisdiction.

    The rate at which attempts are made by compatriots to stretch the jurisdiction of the court to entertain matters having no nexus with the purpose for which the court was created is to say the least, disturbing. In 2015, the then opposition had in the build up to the elections, threatened to petition the ICC prosecutor over some hate speech credited to  the wife of the then President.

    The learned silk is one who has the respect of all for his industry and passion in the advancement of human rights. His integrity and character is in no way impeachable. But then, on this, like no other, I, respectfully argue, that it appears the radical senior counsel is beginning to treat a leprosy patient with herbs meant for the treatment of guinea worm. He is therefore advised to save the sledgehammer for some creatures other than the mosquito.

     

    • Akintola Makinde,

    Abuja.

  • Gbabgo’s trial in Hague begins Thursday

    Former Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo, goes on trial at the International Criminal Court on Thursday, the most senior politician to do so since the global war crimes tribunal was set up 13 years ago.

    Accused of unleashing a civil war that killed 3,000 people after he refused to accept defeat in a 2010 election, Gbagbo remains an influential figure at home and his trial could rekindle tensions in the world’s largest cocoa grower, Reuters reported.

    It is also a test for the ICC, seen in much of Africa as a neo-colonial institution that does the bidding of its European financial backers. Its last attempt to try an African president, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, failed amid diplomatic lobbying and allegations of witness intimidation.

    Gbagbo, 70, and his co-accused, youth leader Charles Ble Goude, 44, face four counts, including a campaign of rape and murder aimed at hanging onto power. Both men denied the charges, which carry maximum sentences of life imprisonment.

    Gbagbo’s supporters said he is a victim of collusion between France and current Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, who won the election and took office after a military intervention by the former colonial power, ended the four-month civil war.

    Ouattara, who was re-elected last year, is accused by his opponents of using the ICC to silence opposition. Gbagbo and Ble Goude – known as the “general of the streets” – were handed over to The Hague after the ICC issued arrest warrants.

    A lawyer representing victims of the violence, Habiba Toure, said the ICC risked “losing credibility” as it had failed to pursue anyone from the other side of the conflict.

  • Falana urges ICC to probe Dasuki, others

    Falana urges ICC to probe Dasuki, others

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN)  has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged crimes of inhumanity against some former and serving military officers, including former National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki.

    The request is contained in a petition of January 19 to the Prosecutor of the ICC, Mrs Fatou Bensouda.

    Falana urged the ICC prosecutor toinvestigate the allegations of the diversion of the security fund of $2.1 billion and N643 billion earmarked  “by suspected perpetrators, with a view to determining whether these amount to crimes against humanity within the Court’s jurisdiction”.

    He urged the court to invite representatives of the Federal Government to provide written or oral testimony.

    The lawyer pleaded with the prosecutor to bring to justice those suspected to have deliberately underfunded the armed forces through widespread and systematic corruption.

    He urged the government to fulfil its obligations under the Rome Statute to cooperate with the ICC by complying with the requests to arrest and surrender suspected perpetrators of the  criminal diversion of security fund and provide other support to the ICC.

    The lawyer, whose firm represented a majority of the soldiers charged with mutiny, cowardly behaviour and sundry offences before the court-martial instituted by the former military authorities, said the only “offence” proved against the soldiers were that they had the temerity to demand weapons to fight Boko Haram.

    Falana alleged that the insurgents have killed about 25,000 soldiers and civilians.