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Boere: Heinrich Boere
Decision on application for judicial review of decision, 6 Oct 2009, Federal Constitutional Court / Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany
Faqirzada: Public Prosecutor v. Abdullah Faqirzada
Judgment, 8 Nov 2011, Supreme Court of the Netherlands, Criminal Division, The Netherlands
Abdoullah Faqirzada, an Afghan national born in 1950, was an officer of the Afghan security police force KhAD (Khadamat-e Etela'at-e Dawlati) in the period 1979-1989. This security police force was known for committing various human rights violations against anti-regime supporters. In 1994, Faqirzada left Afghanistan and went to the Netherlands where he applied for asylum but in vain and therefore stayed in the country illegally. In 2006, the Dutch authorities arrested him on the basis of the principle of universal jurisdiction. Between 4 and 15 June 2007, the District Court of The Hague tried him for committing international crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity). He was acquitted in 2007 because there was insufficient evidence to prove that he was responsible for crimes committed by the security police force. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court also affirmed Faqirzada’s acquittal.
Iyamuremye: Jean-Claude Iyamuremye
Decision on extradition request, 20 Dec 2013, District Court of The Hague, Extradition Chamber, The Netherlands
The Rwandan government suspects the Jean-Claude Iyamuremye, a Rwandan national residing in the Netherlands, of having taken part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide as Interahamwe militia leader. He is indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. On 25 September 2013, Rwandan authorities issued an extradition request with the Netherlands. The accused challenged the request, arguing that war crimes were not prohibited as such in Rwandan law in 1994, and that therefore he cannot be extradited. He also alleged that Rwanda would not provide him with a fair trial; if he were to be extradited, the Netherlands would violate their obligations forthcoming from the European Convention for Human Rights (ECHR).
The Court dismisses both arguments. Since genocide was prohibited by both Rwandan and Dutch law in 1994, the double criminality requirement has already been fulfilled. And concerning fair trial rights, the Court found that it was obliged to apply a marginal test, since the Netherlands and Rwanda are both parties to the Genocide Convention and, thus, have to trust each other on fulfilling their respective treaty obligations. It ruled that extradition would not lead to a flagrant denial of a fair trial; hence the Court ruled the extradition request admissible.
V15: The Prosecutor v. V15
Judgment, 10 Jan 2014, District Court of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
In October 2012 a group of Somali pirates boarded the Iranian dhow "Mohsen" and took the Iranian and Pakistani crewmembers hostage. They were noted by Dutch navy vessel HNLMS Rotterdam (part of NATO's Ocean Shield anti-piracy operation). When Navy marines approached the ship in inflatable boats (RHIBs) they came under fire from both the Mohsen and ashore. The Rotterdam responded, causing the Mohsen to catch fire, after which it sank. 25 people were rescued out of the water, while at least one pirate died during the exchange of fire.
Of the 25 rescued people, at least four were accused of piracy. They were put on separate trials in the Netherlands and charged with piracy and attempted murder and manslaughter.
In the current case, accused V15 was ultimately acquitted of the piracy and attempted murder and manslaughter charges due to a significant lack of evidence. However, since it was clear that armed violence against the Navy personnel had occurred and taking into consideration that V15 did carry a weapon and had cooperated with the shooters, he was found guilty of complicity in the use of (armed) violence against persons aboard a ship. Considering the grave nature of shooting at unprotected persons in inflatable boats an aggravating factor and weighing this against the harsh living conditions in Somalia and the dire personal situation of V15, the Court sentenced the accused to two years' imprisonment.
Thirith: The Prosecutor v. Ieng Thirith
Judgment yet to come, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Cambodia
After the fall of the Cambodian government in 1975, the Communist Party, under the leadership of Pol Pot, came to power and renamed the State the Democratic Kampuchea. An armed conflict broke out with Vietnam, which lasted until 1979. From 1975 until 1979, Pol Pot and the Communist Party of Kampuchea sought to establish a revolutionary State and introduced a policy of ‘smashing’ their enemies, a form of physical and psychological destruction that consisted of arbitrary detention, torture and execution. This policy lead to the deaths of an estimated two million people.
The Accused, Ieng Thirith, was the highest-ranking female in the regime, Pol Pot’s sister-in-law and the wife of Ieng Sary, the regime’s former Foreign Minister. Ieng Thirith was indicted in 2010 on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for her role in the events. In September 2012, on the basis of repeated examinations by multiple medical experts, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia found the now 80-year-old Ieng Thirith unfit to stand trial due to her dementia and released her subject to certain conditions. Although the charges have not been withdrawn, a trial is unlikely to happen in the future considering her age and mental state.
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