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Tag: ICC

  • Dasukigate: Falana asks ICC to investigate Dasuki, others

    Dasukigate: Falana asks ICC to investigate Dasuki, others

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity committed by some former and serving military officers, public officials and private persons including former security adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki who are involved in the alleged diversion of $8 billion earmarked for procurement of arms and armaments for the armed forces to fight insurgency.

    The request is contained in a petition dated January 19, 2016 and sent to the Prosecutor of the ICC Mrs Fatou Bensouda.

    Specifically, Falana urged the ICC prosecutor to “urgently investigate proprio motu the allegations of the criminal 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 said the ICC prosecutor should also invite representatives of the Nigerian government to provide written or oral testimony at the seat of the Court, “ so that the Prosecutor is able to conclude on the basis of available information whether there is a reasonable basis for an investigation, and to submit a request to the Pre-Trial Chamber for authorization of an investigation.

    According to Falana, the prosecutor should bring to justice those suspected to bear full responsibility for deliberate under funding of the armed forces through widespread and systematic corruption in Nigeria.

    He urged the Nigerian government to fulfill its obligations under the Rome Statute to cooperate with the ICC; including complying with your requests to arrest and surrender suspected perpetrators of the criminal diversion of security fund, testimony, and provide other support to the ICC.

    The lawyer whose firm represented a majority of the soldiers charged with mutiny, cowardly behavior and sundry offences before the courts-martial instituted by the former military authorities said the only “offence” proved against the soldiers in the military courts were that they had the temerity to demand for weapons to fight the well equipped troops of the Boko Haram sect.”
    Falana alleged that the insurgents have killed about 25,000 soldiers and civilians including children and displaced over 2,000,000 people because of the refusal of the former military authorities to equip and motivate the members of the armed forces involved in combat operations.

    He alleged further that the former military authorities compromised the security of the people of Nigeria by collaborating with the terrorists and deliberately encouraged the brutal killing of innocent people including ill-equipped officers and soldiers.

    He submitted that the former public officials, serving and military officers as well as civilian collaborators who engaged in the criminal diversion of the security fund are liable to bear full responsibility for the death of about 25,000 people who were killed by the Boko Haram sect and the over 2,000,000 people displaced by the terrorist organisation.

  • ICC transfers war criminals to Congo DR

    Two former Congolese militia leaders have been transferred from the Netherlands to a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    Thomas Lubanga and Germain Katanga are the first ICC convicts to be allowed to serve sentences in their home country, the BBC reports.

    Former warlord Lubanga is serving 14 years for his crimes, while militia chief Katanga is due to be released in 2016.

    The ICC said it will help supervise their imprisonment in the DRC.

    Lubanga and Katanga “have both expressed a preference to serve their respective prison terms in DRC, their country of origin”, the court said in a statement.

    Their detention in the DRC must conform to international norms on the treatment of prisoners, it said.

    Lubanga was once one of the most feared rebel leaders in the gold-rich northeastern Ituri region of the DRC.

    He was found guilty of abducting children as young as 11 and using them to fight his battles.

    Katanga was convicted for his involvement in a bloody massacre that left hundreds of villagers dead.

    Last month, the ICC cut Katanga’s 12-year prison term after he voiced regret and for good behaviour.

    But Lubanga’s request for early release was rejected by the ICC as “unjustified.”

    The ethnic conflict in Ituri between 1999 and 2003 is estimated to have killed 50,000 people.

  • Kenyan president ‘tired of ICC interference’

    Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta criticised the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sunday, saying his East African nation was “tired of interference” in its internal affairs.

    An earlier statement by the presidency said Kenyatta’s criticism was aimed at “foreign envoys.”

    Kenya’s State House later said the barb was directed at the ICC.

    Judges at the ICC this year withdrew charges against Kenyatta, whom they accused in 2011 of stoking ethnic violence after the 2007 presidential election, Reuters reported.

    Prosecutors blamed their failure to put Kenyatta on trial on political interference and widespread interference with witnesses, especially after Kenyatta was elected president in 2013. Kenyatta denied any interference.

    Kenyatta believes the ICC should stop meddling with Kenya’s internal affairs, the presidency said.

    “That is why we are telling those people who are trying to incite Kenyans on issues that are long forgotten that we are tired of their interference.

    “Instead of disturbing us, they should go to resolve the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and give us room to move our country forward,” Kenyatta said.

    Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto, is still on trial at the ICC, facing similar but distinct charges.

  • ICC may slam eight war crimes against army, Boko Haram

    ICC may slam eight war crimes against army, Boko Haram

    •Military dismisses ‘biased, subjective’ report 

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) is citing the Nigerian Army for two possible war crimes in the campaign against the terror sect, Boko Haram, according to indications yesterday.

    The organisation, in its Preliminary Examination Report on Nigeria, is also targeting Boko Haram on six grounds of war crimes.

    The ICC accuses the military of indiscriminate arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings of people suspected to be Boko Haram fighters.

    It also alleged the army of launching attacks on civilian population as well as the recruitment of child soldiers by pro-government militia called the Civilian JTF.

    The Defence Headquarters yesterday dismissed the ICC report as “biased, subjective and unacceptable.”

    It said that the conclusions drawn by the agency without hearing the military side has jeopardised the report’s credibility.

    The ICC claimed that troops have “arbitrarily targeted and arrested” up to 20,000 people, mostly young men in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States since 2011.

    “Altogether, more than 7,000 people reportedly died in military detention since March 2011 due to illness, poor condition and overcrowding of detention facilities, torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions,” it said.

    It added: “In the town of Baga, Borno State, up to 228 persons may have been killed following a security operation on 17 April 2013.

    “Human Rights Watch published geospatial images of the area affected, alleging that at least 2,275 dwellings were destroyed in the attack.

    “Although the central government prohibits the recruitment and use of child soldiers, it is reported that the Civilian Joint Task Force recruited and used children, sometimes by force. Further information on these allegations is however required.”

    Asked to respond to the allegations yesterday, Defence Headquarters spokesman, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, said that instead of being attacked with subtle blackmail and propaganda, the Nigerian military deserves to be commended for its gallant contributions to global peace and security operations.

    “The Nigerian military conducts its operations to protect Nigerians and the nation’s territorial integrity; it is constitutionally empowered to protect lives, property as well as protect the sanctity of its territories against both internal and external aggression in whatever form and under whatever guise,” he said.

    “The Nigerian military operates within laws, code of conduct and rules of engagement to execute operations in line with the best global military standards; our officers and men have steadfastly been serving our nation and making huge sacrifices, especially against the activities of Boko Haram terrorists and our citizens are happy with the successes recorded.

    “Moreover, there was no iota of accusatory evidence from any Nigerian individual, organisation or group against our forces.

    “It is apt to put it on record straightaway that even when we were accused of human rights violation, no iota of allegation comes from Nigerians but from external interests or those who stand as proxy for such interests.

    “We constituted a powerful committee and invited the human right group to serve but they declined.

    “So this report is unacceptable, biased and one-sided as our views were never sought; it is based on mere hearsay which does not hold water in any court of law.

    “Therefore, the Nigerian military which has high respect for law is not in agreement with this one-sided subjective and biased judgement, especially as there was no fairness exhibited at all.

    “We will not be deterred in putting in our best to end this menace no matter the blackmail or propaganda from whatever source.”

    On Boko Haram, the ICC said that the sect was liable for indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians.

    “This case includes attacks conducted against civilians when taking control of towns and villages as well as bomb attacks launched against civilians in civilian areas,” it said, citing 356 reported incidents of killings by Boko Haram in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Plateau, Kano, the Abuja, Gombe, Kaduna, Bauchi between January 2013 and March 2015 and occasionally in Cameroon (since February 2013) and Niger Republic.

    It said over 8,000 civilians have been killed in such incidents.

    Continuing, the ICC said: “Following military operations since February 2015 during which territory previously held by Boko Haram was recaptured, mass graves or other sites with decomposed bodies were discovered allegedly containing the bodies of civilians killed by Boko Haram.”

    It also accused the sect of abducting 1,885 people in 55 incidents between January 2014 and March 2015 mostly in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    “Boko Haram reportedly also detained thousands of civilians in its camps and in towns under its control in Borno state and other undetermined areas in the north-east of Nigeria, including in the Sambisa forest, around Lake Chad, and near the Gorsi mountains in Cameroon.

    “For example, in Bama town, hundreds of men were reportedly held by Boko Haram in the town’s prison for several weeks before being executed,” the report added.

    Boko Haram was similarly accused of attacking schools, other educational buildings as well as students and teachers.

    “Between January 2012 and October 2013, 70 teachers and more than 100 schoolchildren and students were reportedly killed or wounded.

    “In May 2014, Nigeria Union of Teachers reported that at least 173 teachers had been killed between 2009 and 2014, Borno State officials have cited a slightly higher figure of 176 teachers.

    “At least 50 schools were either burned down or badly damaged and 60 more were forced to close. In March 2014, the Borno State government decided to close all secondary schools in the state in order to protect students and teachers from further attacks.

    “In addition, as a result of direct threats from Boko Haram, 120 schools were forced to close in 10 districts of the Far North of Cameroon. Boko Haram was included as a new party on the list of the Secretary General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (2014) for attacks against schools among other alleged conduct.”

     

  • ICC urges India to arrest al-Bashir

    ICC urges India to arrest al-Bashir

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged India to arrest and hand over Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who is wanted on genocide charges and expected to participate in the ongoing Africa-India Summit.

    Bashir is accused of masterminding war crimes in his campaign to crush a revolt in Sudan’s western Darfur region, a move that led the ICC to issue warrants for his arrest in 2009 and 2010.

    Along with at least 40 other African leaders, the 71-year-old president is expected to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the Summit aimed at boosting trade and investment between the two regions.

    ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told newsmen that even though India is not an ICC signatory, it should act as a UN Security Council resolution had lifted Bashir’s immunity under international law and urged all states to fully cooperate with the ICC.

    “As states ponder over such matters, it is fundamentally important not to forget the victims who deserve justice for the unimaginable atrocities they have suffered,” Bensouda’s said late Monday.

    “By arresting and surrendering ICC suspects, India can contribute to the important goal of ending impunity for the world’s worst crimes.” She added.

    Indian officials were not immediately available for comment, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup, when asked the country’s position, told newsmen that “India is fully compliant with its international legal obligations.”

    This is not the first time the ICC has asked a foreign government to arrest and hand over Bashir.

    South Africa, which is a signatory to the ICC and obliged to implement warrants from the court, was criticised in June for allowing Bashir to leave an AU summit, defying a ruling by its own court ordering his detention.

    Sudan has previously accused the ICC of being a political tool to target African leaders.

    As the body had indicted Laurent Gbagbo, former president of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, and Muammar Gaddafi, the late leader of Libya on war crime.

    But Amnesty International India said the two warrants against Bashir charged him with criminal responsibility on 10 counts, including murder, torture and rape, and appealed to India to detain the Sudanese president.

    “As a country which aspires to a more prominent global position, India must not turn a blind eye to these charges,”

    “The Indian government must show true leadership by helping bring Omar al-Bashir to trial.”

    India is the second largest exporter to Sudan after China, selling everything from chemicals, pharmaceuticals and machinery to iron and steel- Several Indian oil, gas and construction firms operate in Sudan.

    According to data from India’s foreign ministry total bilateral trade between India and Sudan surged to 1.4 billion dollars in 2014 from 327 million dollars in 2005/06.

  • ICC wants India to hand over al-Bashir

    The International Criminal Court said India should arrest and hand over Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted on genocide charges and expected to visit New Delhi for a summit this week.

    Bashir is accused of masterminding genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in his campaign to crush a revolt in Sudan’s western Darfur region. The Hague-based tribunal issued warrants for his arrest in 2009 and 2010.

    Along with at least 40 other African leaders, the 71-year-old president is expected to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend an India-Africa Summit aimed at boosting trade and investment between the two regions, Reuters reported.

    Although India is not an ICC signatory, New Delhi should act as a United Nations Security Council resolution had lifted Bashir’s immunity under international law and urged all states to fully cooperate with the ICC, said the office of ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.

    “As states ponder over such matters, it is fundamentally important not to forget the victims who deserve justice for the unimaginable atrocities they have suffered,” Bensouda’s office told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email late on Monday.

    “By arresting and surrendering ICC suspects, India can contribute to the important goal of ending impunity for the world’s worst crimes.”

    Indian officials were not immediately available for comment, but Foreign Ministry spokesman, Vikas Swarup, when asked the country’s position, told local media, “India is fully compliant with its international legal obligations.”

    This is not the first time the ICC has asked a foreign government to arrest and hand over Bashir.

  • ICC to S/Africa: Explain failure to arrest al-Bashir

    ICC to S/Africa: Explain failure to arrest al-Bashir

    Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, have asked South African authorities to explain why they failed to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in June when he attended a conference.

    The ICC asked South African authorities to submit by Oct. 5 the reasons for “their failure to arrest and surrender Omar al-Bashir’’.

    The tribunal said it has to give full explanation on how al-Bashir was able to leave an AU Union summit in South Africa and fly home.

    The Sudanese President had been accused of masterminding genocide in Darfur.

    His flight back home was in defiance of a ruling by a South African court ordering his detention under a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    South Africa, a member of the ICC, is obliged to enforce warrants from the Hague-based tribunal.

    The tribunal said in cases where a member of the ICC fails to cooperate, the tribunal may refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC’s governing body.

    It can also take the matter up with the U.N. Security Council, which established the court and has the power to impose sanctions.

    President Jacob Zuma has defended the decision to let al-Bashir leave the country, saying as a leader, he has immunity as a guest of the African Union.

    Meanwhile, Pretoria has said it would review its membership of the ICC and challenge a high court ruling that found the state erred in letting al-Bashir leave.

  • Congo militia leader pleads ‘Not guilty’ as trial opens

    Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda pleaded “Not guilty” on Wednesday to crimes including the rape of child soldiers in a campaign of pillage and murder in northeast Congo’s Ituri province in the early 2000s.

    The Rwandan-born Ntaganda is accused by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of conspiring to expand the power of the Hema ethnic group and seize the province’s vast oil, diamond and gold wealth for himself, Reuters reported.

    He faces 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in all, including murder, rape, pillage and persecution, under a doctrine of international law that allows him to be charged personally with offences committed by forces under his command.

    One alleged co-conspirator is Thomas Lubanga, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence after becoming the court’s first convicted defendant in 2012.

    Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told judges that fighters from Ntaganda’s Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) had lured ethnic Lendus occupying the land they wanted to arrange purported peace talks in order to capture and kill them.

    “Bosco Ntaganda was the UPC’s highest commander, in charge of operations and organisation,” she told the court, adding that he had allowed the slaughter to go unpunished.

    One witness found the bodies of his own wife and children among victims of the slaughter in a banana field. Their throats had been slit and his infant daughter’s skull was staved in.

    They were just five of an estimated 5,000 civilians killed during the 2002-03 campaign. Bensouda said Ntaganda had praised the field commander responsible as “a real man.”

  • Al Bashir: South Africa lawmakers reject bid to impeach Zuma

    South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday rejected investigating President Jacob Zuma for possible impeachment for allowing Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to evade an arrest warrant and leave the country in June.

    Bashir, accused of masterminding genocide in Darfur, was allowed to leave an African Union summit in South Africa and fly home, in defiance of a local court ruling ordering his detention under a warrant from the International Criminal Court, Reuters reported.

    South Africa, a member of the ICC, is obliged to enforce warrants from the Hague-based tribunal.

    Mmusi Maimane, head of the opposition Democratic Alliance, which sponsored the motion put to lawmakers, urged members of parliament to vote to set up an ad hoc committee to look into the president’s role.

    “When President Jacob Zuma chose to violate the court order, he attacked the very foundations of our constitution,” Maimane told parliament in Cape Town in a debate broadcast live on television.

    Parliament is dominated by Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC) and the motion was defeated by 211 votes against, to 100 in favour.

    17 lawmakers abstained.

    Bashir’s exit triggered an international outcry and highlighted deep rifts between the global court and African powers who have accused the ICC of bias against the continent. The ICC – set up to try the worst crimes when local courts fail – has so far only charged Africans.

  • ICC to reopen obstruction case against Kenya

    Judges will reopen a hearing into whether to take action against Kenya over allegations it obstructed investigations into its President Uhuru Kenyatta, after an appeals court ordered them on Wednesday to reconsider their rejection of the case.

    Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused Nairobi last year of failing to send in evidence linked to charges that Kenyatta orchestrated a wave of deadly violence after 2007 elections.

    He denied the charges and the case collapsed, Reuters reported.

    The prosecution asked judges to refer Kenya to the United Nations, which could impose sanctions, or the court’s overseeing body.

    An ICC tribunal initially rejected the prosecutors’ request, but the appeals court said on Wednesday the panel had made mistakes in its ruling and told it to think again.

    Any eventual punitive action against Kenya could deepen a divide between the Hague-based court and many African countries who accuse it of bias against the continent.

    The international court, set up more than a decade ago to hold the most powerful to account for the most serious crimes, has convicted just two minor African warlords since it started work in 2002.

    Reading the appeal court decision, Presiding Judge Silvia Fernandez said the lower court had failed to properly assess the role of prosecutors and that errors prevented it “from making a conclusive determination.”

    A failure to cooperate with the court can lead to a reporting of “non-compliance” to the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC’s governing body, or the U.N Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions, but has so far not done so.