Iraqi High Tribunal to Try Former Deputy Prime Minister Aziz

Tariq Aziz, who served for almost ten years as Saddam Hussein’s Deputy Prime Minister, is set to be tried in the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the 1992 executions of 40 Baghdad merchants. The merchants had been charged with raising food prices while Iraq was the subject of international sanctions, and were found guilty after a short trial.^[1]

Aziz will stand trial alongside Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali,” who is now on death row following his conviction last year for his role in the murder of tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians. Also on trial is Wathan Ibrahim al-Hassan, the half-brother of Saddam Hussein.^[2]

“Everybody knows that he was not involved in this thing, but the Iraqi government has accused him and [plans to] put him on trial because of his name,” asserted Ziyad Aziz, Tariq’s son.^[3] “Even though he was part of the regime, everybody knows my father was responsible for foreign relations of Iraq and other countries…he was not involved in this thing about the merchants.”^[4]

Tariq Aziz has been in custody since 2003, when he surrendered to US forces in Iraq. He suffered a stroke in 2006 and was hospitalized after a fall in prison last year, but is expected to be present in court.^[5]

Judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman, an Iraqi Kurd who sentenced Saddam Hussein to death, will preside over Aziz’s trial. The Tribunal was established to try former members of Hussein’s regime, but has been criticized by human rights groups for a variety of issues. Human Rights Watch faulted the Hussein trial for having “serious administrative, procedural and substantive legal defects.”^[6]

Further information on cases heard by the Iraqi Special Tribunal, including extensive coverage of the Saddam Hussein trial, can be found on the International Crimes Blog.


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[1] BBC Online, Tariq Aziz trial begins in Iraq, April 29, 2008 (available at www.bbc.co.uk/news).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

Pressure for Kony Arrest Continues as Rebels Kidnap Hundreds

Amnesty International continued to press for action by government officials in the Congo, Sudan, and Central African Republic to free over 350 people kidnapped over the past several weeks by Ugandan rebels, led by fugitive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony.^[1]

In a statement released earlier this week, Amnesty International asserted that those kidnapped, “ including scores of women and children -- are likely to be used as child combatants and sex slaves, and yet none of the governments in the region have done anything to try to secure their release.”^[2] Amnesty International called upon the United Nations, as well as the African governments, to take action to assist those taken captive by the LRA. "The governments of Sudan, the CAR and the DRC -- with the assistance of the U.N. -- must join forces to secure the safety and release of those kidnapped immediately and bring those responsible to justice."^[3]

Amnesty International is not the only group calling for the arrest of Kony. The LRA leader is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes he allegedly committed during one of Africa’s longest armed conflicts. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo expressed concern as to the safety of those abducted, as well as dismay at the possibility that those abducted would be forced into serving in the LRA.^[4]

The Ugandan government has been holding peace talks with Kony to end the civil war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, but negotiations collapsed early this month when Kony refused to come out of hiding for a planned meeting. Kony is cites his fear of arrest and extradition to the ICC as the reason he has not personally attended peace negotiations for the past two years. It is believed that he is currently hiding in the Congo’s Garamba Forest.^[5]

Further information on Kony can be found in the International Crimes Blog, with specific information found here.


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[1] Francis Kwera, Uganda rebels kidnap 350 people, Reuters Africa, April 22, 2008 (available at www.reuters.com).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

ICTY Trial of Serb State Security Commander Delayed Again

Despite being found competent to stand trial last week,^[1] the former head of the Serbian secret service under Slobodan Milosevic will have his ICTY trial delayed yet again.^[2]

Jovica Stanisic, who has been suffering from kidney stones and pouchitis, as well as severe depression, had been unable to appear in court due to his illnesses. Stanisic refused to waive his right to appear, but last week the Trial Chamber ruled that a videoconference link could be established to allow him to participate in the proceedings.^[3] The trial was scheduled to commence on April 14, but was delayed yet again this week, as court officials reported a full video link would not be ready until April 28. "We take the view that it is more convenient to await April 28 when the full video link is established to have the pre-trial conference and the opening statements," stated Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson.^[4]

Stanisic and his co-accused, former Serb intelligence officer Franko Simatovic, have been accused of committing war crimes, including murder and persecution, relating to their command over secret units of the Serbian State Security service. These units were allegedly involved in attacks aimed at Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia during the early 1990’s.^[5]

Extensive coverage of the proceedings at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia can be found on the International Crimes Blog.

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[1] ICTY Press Release, Jovica Stanisic Fit to Stand Trial, April 9, 2008 (available at www.un.org/icty).

[2] Foo Yun Chee, Trial of ex-Serbian secret service chief delayed, Reuters, April 14, 2008 (available at www.reuters.com).

[3] ICTY Press Release.

[4] Foo Yun Chee.

[5] ICTY Press Release.

ICTY Acquits Former Kosovo Prime Minister Haradinaj

Ramush Haradinaj, who once served as senior leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later as Kosovo Prime Minister, was acquitted by the ICTY on Thursday after being charged with war crimes allegedly committed during the Balkan conflict.^[1]

Haradinaj, who returned to Kosovo on Friday to a hero’s welcome, used his acquittal as affirmation of his country’s struggle to free itself from Serbian rule. “The court ruling proves that I am innocent and that our war was untainted,” he told the Associated press shortly after returning from The Hague.^[2]

The ICTY acquitted Haradinaj of persecution and numerous war crimes, including murder, torture, and rape, which were allegedly committed during the 1998-99 conflict between Kosovo rebels and Serbia. It was alleged that Haradinaj, while serving as leader of the KLA, allowed his soldiers to conduct a campaign of abduction, torture, murder, and rape targeted at Serbs and Kosovar Albanians sympathetic to Serbian rule.^[3]

Serbian officials reacted immediately to the verdict with outrage, possibly jeopardizing any further cooperation with the ICTY in their on-going efforts to apprehend fugitives Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, both accused of war crimes and genocide in relation to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica also called into question further Serbian cooperation with the European Union, stating “it would be necessary to hear the EU position about this mockery of justice.”^[4]

Serbian President Boris Tadic underscored the effect of the verdict on already the tense Serbian-Kosovo situation, stating that the acquittal "does not bring justice and does not encourage the Serbs and other non-Albanians to trust they will have a safe and calm life in Kosovo in the future."^[5]

In their ruling, the ICTY Trial Chamber acknowledged that numerous war crimes were committed by members of the KLA against Serbs, but the evidence against Haradinaj was “vague, inconclusive, or nonexistent.”^[6]

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[1] Associated Press, Former Kosovo prime minister acquitted of war crimes charges, returns home; International Herald Tribune, April 4, 2008 (available at www.iht.com).

[2] Id.

[3] ICTY Case Information Sheet, Haradinaj et al., available at ww.un.org/icty.

[4] Associated Press.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

Human Rights and Legal Experts Press UN Over Sudan Suspects

Numerous influential legal experts and human rights activists have issued a letter to the United Nations Security Council, urging for increased pressure on Sudan to extradite two war crimes suspects for trial at the International Criminal Court.^[1]

The group, including former war crimes prosecutors Carla Del Ponte and Richard Goldstone, are hoping increased international pressure will lead to the Sudanese government turning over Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb, both accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region of the Sudan between 2003 and 2004.^[2] Arrest warrants for the men were issued by the ICC in May of 2007.^[3]

Nick Donovan, head of the Darfur campaign at Aegis Trust, noted the Security Council has several options it can take to force the issue. "The U.N. Security Council can take some concrete steps such as imposing targeted sanctions like freezing the bank accounts of those who are protecting Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb, the two suspects.”^[4]

Spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London, Khalid al Mubarak, dismissed the letter, as well as efforts to bring the two men to face charges at the ICC. “The International Criminal Court is itself controversial and highly discredited; for one reason, which is that many countries including the United States are exempted from the rules relevant to the International Criminal Court," Mubarak said. "Over and above that, Sudan is not party to it, it has not ratified anything relevant to it.”^[5]

Mubarak further argued the Sudanese were capable of bringing the two men to face charges in their own national courts, noting that several persons accused of human rights violations in Darfur have been tried and sentenced to extensive terms of imprisonment. At this time, Mubarak asserted, no relevant or credible evidence has been presented against Kushayb and Harun. ^[6]

Harun served as state interior minister during the Darfur conflict and is accused of helping recruit Janjaweed militias and contributing to various international crimes. Ali Kushayb served as a senior militia leader during the conflict. It is estimated that 20,000 people have been killed and over 200,000 driven from their homes in the Darfur region of Sudan since the start of the conflict in 2003.^[7]

The indictments of Harun and Kushayb have been discussed extensively in the International Crimes Blogs, and further information can be found here.

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[1] Tendai Maphosa, UN Urged to Pressure Sudan on Darfur War Crimes Suspects, Voice of American, March 31, 2008 (available at www.voanews.com).

[2] Id.

[3] See International Criminal Court, Situations and Cases; Darfur, Sudan (available at www.icc-cpi.int).

[4] Maphosa.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.