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On 16 December 2022, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) convicted Mr. Salih Mustafa of three counts of war crimes including arbitrary detention, torture, and murder. Mr. Mustafa was sentenced to twenty-six years in prison, and he was ordered to pay €207,000 to the victims. Mr. Mustafa appealed his conviction arguing the Trial Panel of the KSC made over fifty legal and factual errors when handing down the original judgment and sentence.

Mr. Mustafa first argued that the Trial Panel mistakenly relied on improper evidence and uncredible witness statements made by the victims to make its ultimate decision. The Appeals Panel of the KSC found that the evidence used in Mr. Mustafa’s trial was proper and credible, so it dismissed these issues. Mr. Mustafa then argued that there was not enough evidence to prove each crime for which he was convicted, and that the Trial Panel did not correctly apply the law when looking at each crime. The Appeals panel found that there was enough evidence to convict on each charge and that the Trial Panel applied the law correctly.

Mr. Mustafa’s last argument claimed that the Trial Panel did not properly follow the law when sentencing which led to an excessive sentence of twenty-six years. The Appeal Panel found that the Trial Panel followed the law when determining the original sentence, except that it failed to properly consider similar cases in international and domestic Kosovo law. The Appeals Panel considered sentencing in similar cases and decided to reduce Mr. Mustafa’s sentence from twenty-six years to twenty-two years total. After Mr. Mustafa brought the sentencing issue to the Supreme Court Chamber of the KSC, the Appeals Chamber again reevaluated its sentence on 10 September 2024 and further reduced the sentence from twenty-two years to fifteen years in prison including the time Mr. Mustafa had already served.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani of Kuwait birth, is the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the United States which claimed the lives of nearly 3000 people.

Captured in Pakistan in 2003, he has been in United States custody, most recently at Guantanamo Bay, ever since. Mohammed, along with four other 9/11 planners, were charged and tried before a United States Military Commission in 2008 until charges were dropped in 2010. Following a failed attempt to transfer the five co-defendants to new York to stand trial before a civilian federal court, they were indicted once again in February 2011. Their trial is currently underway before the Military Commission at Guantanamo Bay.

The Accused were members of the Civil Defense Forces of Sierra Leone, fighting the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) and AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) rebels in an effort to restore the democratically elected President Kabbah who had been ousted following a coup. Their activities, however, did not always target enemy forces; large numbers of civilians, including young children and women were made the object of brutal attacks, often by machetes.

Fofana and Kondewa were convicted by Trial Chamber I for 4 counts of war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishment. Kondewa was additionally convicted for recruitment of child soldiers. The Trial Chamber, in determining sentencing, took into account the gravity of the offences and the role of the Accused. In particular, the Trial Chamber considered it a mitigating circumstance that the Accused had engaged in the conflict out of a sense of duty in order to protect civilians, and had pursued a legitimate and justifiable purpose of returning former President Kabbah to power. Consequently, Fofana was sentenced to 6 years in prison and Kondewa to 8 years.

On 9 November 2004, Jose Louis Nazario Jr. was serving in  Iraq as a member of the US Armed Forces. Nazario was leading a squad of 13 Marines on house-to-house searches. During these searches, Nazario allegedly killed two Iraqis, and encouraged two squad members to shoot two others. The alleged acts took place in Fallujah, Iraq.

In 2007, Jose Louis Nazario was brought before the US District Court in California. He was the first veteran to be tried in a civilian US court for alleged war crimes in Iraq.

The defence argued that there was no evidence of a deceased person, nor had the government provided a name or a sufficient description of any of the alleged victims. Deliberating in less than six hours, the jury found Nazario not guilty of manslaughter or assault. Jose Louis Nazario Jr. was acquitted on all charges on 28 August 2008.

Palestinian refugee Othman Ayed Hamdan was charged after posting on various Facebook accounts and pages regarding Middle East politics, particularly supporting ISIS presence in Iraq and Syria. He believed he was carrying out jihad, meaning struggle. The charges arose from 85 posts from Facebook accounts and pages. To prove the elements of the crime, the Crown had to prove two things: 1) that posts were likely to incite a reader to commit a terrorist act and 2) that Hamdan intended to incite his audience.

The Court determined that a reasonable person would find only one of the posts to be an active inducement to commit a terrorist act; however, the court also determined that the Crown could not prove Hamdan intended to induce a reader beyond a reasonable doubt. While the Court did not find Hamdan’s testimony on his intent credible, the court acquitted him because there was reasonable doubt.