Warning: graphic information in this report may upset some readers A new report, authored by three internationally renowned judges – Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay, Thomas Buergenthal and Mark B Harmon – under the auspices of the International Bar Association (IBA) War Crimes Committee, calls on the international community to vest in the International Criminal Court (ICC) or… Read more »
Blog post from International Trial Observer and Barrister Margaret Owen (pictured) 7th December 2017 Another icy grey morning in Ankara, and we international observers again pile into two coaches, and then into the crowded buses for the drive to Sincan Prison Complex. On the way we discuss what we predict will happen this day, when… Read more »
Blog post from International Trial Observer and Barrister Margaret Owen (pictured) Wednesday, December 6 Ms Figen Yüksekdağ is charged, under the Anti Terror Law, with inciting violence, making propaganda for a terrorist organisation ( PKK) and establishing and managing a terrorist organisation. These accusations were made on the basis of speeches she had made, as… Read more »
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has confirmed that former Bosnian Croat general Slobodan Praljak has died after drinking a poison at a hearing upholding his conviction for crimes against humanity and war crimes. In the UN tribunal’s final case, the Appeals Chamber affirmed almost all of the Trial Chamber’s convictions of… Read more »
Figen Yüksekdağ, co-chair of the pro Kurdish HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) in Turkey has written a letter about violence committed against women. She wrote it in order to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which took place on Saturday 25th November. Ms Yüksekdağ, along with fellow co-chair Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş,… Read more »
Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, 74, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian conflict. Mladic was commander of the Bosnian Serb Army Main Staff from around 1992-1996. He bears individual criminal responsibility for crimes against Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) armies in… Read more »
In Turkey, two members of the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) are currently involved in legal proceedings amid allegations of participation in terrorist activities. HDP Co-Chair, Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş (pictured) and Ms. Figen Yüksekdağ, also a party co-chair, were arrested on the 4th November 2016 alongside seven other MPs. Mr Demirtaş is accused of establishing or… Read more »
On Friday 3rd November two Kurdish politicians appeared before a court in Malatya, south-east Turkey, via a videolink from Kandira maximum security prison. These were Mayor of Diyarbakir Gultan Kisanak and Sebahat Tuncel, co-leader of the DBP party affiliated to the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy… Read more »
The 12th Annual Meeting of the International Criminal Defence Lawyers Germany – ICDL eV – will take place in Berlin at the Hotel InterContinental on 27th January 2018. The meeting will last the whole day from: 09:00 – 20:30. The event will include speeches and contributions from many respected legal professionals, including 9 Bedford Row… Read more »
Two members of 9 Bedford Row International, Jens Dieckmann and Colleen Rohan, will be attending in the 5th International Meetings of the Defence, which is set to take place in Nuremberg from the 8th-10th November 2017. This event aims to be an informal gathering between… Read more »
A recent Washington Post article has been published based on a report prepared by David Hawk and Amanda Mortwedt Oh detailing a second set of prison camps in North Korea, which exist alongside the political camps that were previously exposed by the United Nations. Both the report and the opinion piece reveal that these other… Read more »
The Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, has released a statement on her decision to request authorisation to open an investigation into crimes that have allegedly been committed in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. STATEMENT BEGINS: For decades, the people of Afghanistan have endured the scourge of armed conflict. Following a… Read more »
Agnes Callamard The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings spoke at the IBA 2017 Annual Conference in Sydney at a Question time style session moderated by Steven Kay QC of 9 Bedford Row called Extrajudicial killing and state policy: case studies. The other speakers were Leonard Blazeby of ICRC and Alison Cole… Read more »
Columbia Global Freedom of Expression is delighted to announce a call for nominations for the 2018 Global Freedom of Expression Prizes that celebrate judicial decisions and legal services around the world that strengthen freedom of expression by promoting international standards. We feel that at a time when freedom of expression is threatened globally, there is… Read more »
For the first time, some of the most important films about war crimes have been gathered together by award-wining film director Michael Christoffersen. “Milosevic on Trial”, “Saving Saddam” and “Genocide: The Judgement” are now available online from www.warcrimesfilms.com Warcrimesfilms.com’s unique collection has been used to date extensively by scholars, lawyers, journalists and experts around the… Read more »
The United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to launch an independent investigation into the alleged human rights violations committed in Yemen by all parties in the civil war that has been ongoing now for three years. The decision was the result of lengthy discussions between the Saudis, the Arab League, the Netherlands, France, the… Read more »
On 25th September, Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, one of the most influential international criminal law professors, died at his Chicago home aged 79 due to complications from multiple myeloma. Often described as “the father of international criminal law,” he helped to set up the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998 after having spent much of his… Read more »
Human Rights at Sea publishes its Annual Report for the year ending May 2016 today. The 40-page report comprehensively lays out the development and achievements of the UK-based charity’s third year of operation. Founded in April 2014 by CEO David Hammond, the charity raises awareness and accountability for human rights in the maritime environment. Hammond… Read more »
Written by Laureen Bokanda-Masson Following the attack of border-control posts carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on 25 August 2017, the Burmese military has responded by conducting repression operations leading to a new major wave of migration in an attempt by the Rohingya to flee inter-community violence. Though the tensions are largely… Read more »
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Burundi has urgently requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) open an investigation into crimes against humanity being committed in the country. On 4th September 2017, it was confirmed at a meeting in Geneva that the Commission has… Read more »
