News updates
(For older news updates, please visit our news archive)
5 October 2026: Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC has unsealed the arrest warrants against Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban, and two education ministers Habibullah Agha and Neda Mohammad Nadim. All four men are accused of the crime against humanity of persecution allegedly committed in Afghanistan after 2021 against women, girls, persons perceived to be allies of women and girls, and "other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's ideological expectations of gender, gender identity or expression".
2 October 2026: The Victorian Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal by Krauatatungalung Elder Robbie Thorpe, finding among others that the alleged charges "did not disclose an offence known to the law of Victoria". In 2023, Mr. Thorpe filed a private prosecution against King Charles III, accusing him of committing and continuing to commit genocide against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
29 September 2026: The Vietnamese police have arrested three people, including a Norwegian citizen and an Australian national, accusing them of terrorism. According to Viet Tan, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Vietnam, the three individuals were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam.
27 September 2026: Kosovo police have arrested nine individuals suspected of having committed war crimes against the civilian population during the 1998-1999 war. The arrests are related to the discovery of mass graves in Zubin Potok containing the remains of 23 people.
23 September 2026: Trial Chamber VI of the ICC has found Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a former Seleka military leader from the Central African Republic, guilty of the crimes against humanity of imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, other inhumane acts, and persecution. His sentence will be delivered at a later date.
22 September 2026: A court in Paris has issued its decision on the civil claims in the case of Sabri Essid, a French ISIS fighter who was found guilty in absentia of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Yazidi women and children. The court recognized the harm caused by Mr. Essid to eleven victims, as well as the moral damages suffered by Yazidi associations that had joined the proceedings as civil parties. The court awarded damages to both the individuals and organizations involved.
21 September 2026: A briefing note released by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that United States military attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, which were allegedly trafficking illicit drugs to the United States, amount to crimes against humanity of murder.
21 September 2026: The Crown Prosecution Service has charged Dr. Vincent Brown with "one offence of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity", allegedly committed in Rwanda in April 1994. This marks the first time in the United Kingdom that charges have been brought against someone in relation to the Rwandan genocide.
18 September 2026: Following his conviction for, among others, multiple counts of torture committed while heading Syria's Adra prison between 2005 and 2008, Samir Ousman al-Sheikh has now been sentenced by a US federal court in Los Angeles to 60 years of imprisonment.
16 September 2026: Trial Panel II of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers has found former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci and three former officers of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, guilty of the war crimes of illegal or arbitrary arrest and detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder.
15 September 2026: The International Crimes Tribunal-2 in Dhaka has sentenced in absentia seven former officials and Awami League leaders to death for committing crimes against humanity during student-led protests in July and August 2024.
10 September 2026: Nine former military pilots, accused of involvement in war crimes committed against the Syrian people during the Assad regime, have been arrested in Lattakia province by Internal Security Forces and the Counterterrorism Branch.
4 September 2026: Kosovo's Special Prosecution has indicted 35 suspects on charges of war crimes against the civilian population committed between 5 and 7 March 1998 in the Jashari neighbourhood in Prekaz. All the suspects served in the Serbian special police units during the Kosovo war.
1 September 2026: Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC has dismissed the "Formal Communication Requesting Investigation into Systemic Kidnappings in Nigeria as Crimes Against Humanity" on the ground that it lacked any legal basis.
31 August 2026: Haitham Suleiman Barakat and Marwan Suleiman Barakat, two former military commanders under the Assad regime, have been arrested in Latakia as an investigation into their alleged involvement in multiple war crimes remains ongoing.
Announcements
(For older announcements, please visit our announcements archive)
In memoriam Göran Sluiter. On 21 September 2026, one of the members of the ICD Steering Committee, Göran Sluiter, passed away. The T.M.C. Asser Instituut is very sad about Göran's premature passing but also grateful for everything he has meant for the field of international criminal law, including the ICD. We will dearly miss him. See here for a brief 'in memoriam'.
NEW VIDEO: On 23 June 2026, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised the panel discussion "Russia's weaponisation of sexual violence against men in Ukraine". The event was co-organised by the International Bar Association, the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, The Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands, and The Embassy of Lithuania in the Netherlands. Access the recording here.
NEW VIDEO: On 8 June 2026, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised the lecture "Ecocide: Criminalising serious harm against the environment" as part of the Benjamin Ferencz Lecture Series. The event was co-organised with IHCL Platform, T.M.C. Asser Press, and the SGEL research project. Access the recording here.
NEW VIDEO: The T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised the event "Effective defence in Ukrainian war crimes trials: Comparative practice and EU accession" as part of the Benjamin Ferencz Lecture Series. Access the recording here.
NEW VIDEO: On 27 May 2026, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised the special Benjamin Ferencz lecture "Nuremberg's citizen prosecutor - Benjamin Ferencz and the birth of International justice". The event was co-organised with the IHCL Platform. Access the recording here.
NEW CASE: The case summary of the Appeals Judgement in the case of Salih Mustafa before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers can now be accessed online. Access it here.
NEW TRAINING PROGRAMME: This summer explore the complex field of counter-terrorism and (violent) extremism at the Asser Institute during the 16th edition of our organised in collaboration with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT).
NEW TRAINING PROGRAMME: Dive into the fascinating worlds of international criminal law and counter-terrorism this summer at the Asser Institute during the celebrative 20th edition of our , co-organised with the War Crimes Research Office of American University’s Washington College of Law.
NEW SHORT COURSE: Drawing from expertise in The Hague and beyond, the Asser Institute is hosting a two-day course on how contemporary global legal and policy issues are addressed by international courts, including the International Criminal Court. See more information here.
NEW VIDEO: On 5 February 2026, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut hosted the lecture "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: human rights violations and international crimes". Access the recording here.
NEW CASE: The case summary of the Trial Judgment in the L.I. case, before the Stockholm District Court, can now be accessed online. This case concerns acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against the Yazidi population in Iraq and Syria. Access it here.
NEW VIDEO: A new video is available online. On 8 October 2025, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised a panel discussion entitled "Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine and States' (non-)compliance with UNGA Resolution ES-10/24". The panel featured Ambassador Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Alharthy, Ambassador Ammar Hijazi, Prof. André Nollkaemper, and Dr Alessandra Spadaro. The video can be accessed here.
NEW CASE: The case summary for the Trial Judgment in the case of Salih Mustafa, before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, can now be accessed online. Access it here.
NEW CASE: The case summary for the Appeals Judgment in the case of Anwar Raslan, before the German Federal Court of Justice, can now be accessed online. Access it here.
NEW CASE: The case summary for the Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladić before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) can now be accessed online. Access it here.
NEW VIDEO: A new video is available online. On 10 September 2025, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organised a panel discussion entitled "Business and human rights amidst Russia’s war against Ukraine: Rethinking corporate accountability". The panel featured H.E. Andriy Kostin, Eva Gerritse, Olena Uvarova, Ella Skybenko, Waleed Mahmoud, and Maryna Kupchuk. The video can be accessed here.
