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In September 2007, 14 Iraqi civilians were killed and 20 wounded by employees of Blackwater, a private security company hired by the US to protect government employees. They stated that it was self-defence, but were charged with manslaughter.

They alleged they had made statements under pressure (as they were threatened to be fired if they would not do so). Under US law, these statements are ‘compelled’ and can therefore not be used in criminal proceedings. As these statements appeared in the press, both the prosecution team and witnesses were influenced by them. Therefore, the Court ruled that the rights of the defendants have been inexcusably breached. It dismissed the charges against the defendants. 

The case of Branimir Glavaš marks the first time that a high-ranking Croatian politician was sentenced for war crimes in relation to the Croatian war of independence.

Glavaš has denied any wrongdoing and protested his detention and trial in Croatia by going on a 40-day hunger strike in 2006. He considered his case to be politically motivated and Nikica Grzić, his defence attorney, alleged the Appellate Division Panel’s findings were based on “political, not legal statements.”

Mehura Selimović was born on 4 April 1962, and is a former military, police affairs and counter-intelligence officer of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH). Adil Ružnić was born on 2 August 1967, and is a former Assistant Commander for Security Affairs of the 5th Corps of the Army of RBiH. Emir Mustafić is a former member of the 5th Corps of the Army of RBiH. While holding these positions, they assisted soldiers detaining civilians and members of enemy forces that were no longer fighting in the Adil Bešić military barracks in Bihać, in a camp in the plastic factory in Petrovac, in the Luke prison in Bihać, and in other locations. In these locations, the detainees were held in unhealthy conditions, forced to perform hard work, and subjected to harsh interrogations and physical mistreatment. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina charged Selimović, Ružnić and Mustafić with war crimes against civilians and war crimes against prisoners of war because of their involvement in the crimes.

From 1975 until 2002, Indonesia illegally occupied East Timor. Members of the Indonesian Armed Forces worked together with local pro-autonomy militia groups to perpetrate a campaign of violence against the civilian population, particularly against those perceived to be independence supporters.

The ten accused in the present case were all members of or otherwise affiliated with the pro-autonomy Team Alpha militia group. In 1999, they directed a number of attacks against the civilian population including the torture of one individual, the shooting of a car full of civilians including nuns and journalists, as well as the burning down of civilian homes and the transfer of the population to refugee bases or to West Timor.

The Special Panels convicted all of the Accused for various crimes against humanity and handed down sentences that ranged from 33 years and 4 months’ imprisonment to 4 years’ imprisonment, depending on the degree of the Accused’s involvement in the crimes. It was the first case before the Special Panels to involve crimes against humanity.

In the morning of 27 August 1999, pro-independence members attacked pro-autonomy militia members at a market in Home, East Timor. In retaliation for the attack, members of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and local militia groups attacked the home of Verissimo Dias Quintas, the local figurehead for the pro-independence group Conselho Nacional da Resistencia Timorense (CNRT). Inacio Olivera, Gilberto Fernandes and Jose Da Costa (the Accused) were present at the attack and contributed to the destruction of the building by shooting rifles, directing the action and bringing in weapons.

Although the Prosecution had charged the Accused with crimes against humanity, the Special Panels for Serious Crimes found that the conduct of the Accused could not be qualified as such. Importantly, there was no link between the attack on the CNRT compound and a widespread or systametic attack against the Timorese population, which is a requisite for crimes against humanity. Instead, the Court requalified the offense as the domestic offense of violence against persons or property, contrary to the Indonesian Penal Code. They were acquitted of the crime of murder as the Court found that they did not contribute to the murder in any way. The Accused were sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment each.