Unconfirmed reports warn of imminent executions of Saif Gaddafi, Al-Senussi and other Gaddafi officials: Unconfirmed media reports from Tripoli mention a possible execution of the former Qaddafi-era officials including Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi’s son, former intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, and former prime minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, sentenced to death by a court sitting in Hadba prison in Tripoli 28 July 2015. When the death sentences were announced, it was also specified that a higher court had to confirm them and that there could be an appeal of the sentences.
Karim Khan, who represents Mahmoudi in an attempt to have his case considered by the ICC said “We have received the latest news of imminent executions with obvious alarm and deep concern. We are trying to investigate [the accuracy of the reports]. Execution without due process is murder and nothing less.” The Defence for Senussi similarly expressed concern in a press statement which reads; “[t]he written judgment from his trial and reasons for his conviction [have not] been handed down. It highlights again the completely arbitrary and perverse nature of the national proceedings that place Mr. Al-Senussi at the whim of lawless militia groupings.” (Libya Herald, ICL Media Review)
First Prosecution witness testifies at Ntaganda trial at the ICC: Tuesday, 15 September 2015, the first witness testified at the ICC in the trial of former Congolese commander of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), Bosco Ntaganda. Mr. Witness, whose identity was concealed, testified that he was trading goods in the nearby community of Yedi when “rebels” of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) party came to “wage war”. He said “I saw people who were fleeing and going towards Yedi”. He continued that he could hear “bullets and the noise of heavy weapons.” He noted that it was a “tribal war” and that “[he] feared they might kill me, because…I was part of the Lendu tribe.” Mr. Witness fled the fighting, but testified that his house was destroyed and looted by “the enemy”, who he said were “UPC soldiers.” Ntaganda has been charged with 13 counts of war crimes and 5 counts of crimes against humanity, along with other charges. For more information on this issue, please click here and please click here. (Yahoo! News, Expatica, ICC Case Information Sheet)
ECCC hears testimony about execution of Muslims in Cambodia: Tuesday, 15 September, 2015 Samrit Muy, who was serving in the Khmer militia in 1977, testified before the court. He testified that he was in the kitchen of his cooperative when he saw a large group of Cham men, women and children being marched toward the village pagoda. He said after they were taken into the pagoda, he never saw any of them again. He said “Whenever they wanted to kill people, they would bring them to the pagoda and loud music would be played.” He believed that music was played that night to drown out the sounds of killings. Muy said that after the arrival of Khmer Rouge soldiers the Cham “disappeared”. He also explained that he had lived among the Cham people since the Khmer Rouge took over the country in April 1975 but in 1977, after the arrival of the Khmer Rouge soldiers from the southwest zone “all of them [the Cham] were arrested.” He said “I don’t know why innocent people were taken away and killed.” (Fulton Post News.com)
Sri Lanka to set up truth and reconciliation commission: Sri Lanka’s new government said on Monday, 14 September 2015 that it was setting up a truth and reconciliation commission, which would function like the commission in South Africa. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that South Africa would advise the nation on how to use the commission to provide a remedy to victims and to track down missing people. Samaraweera outlined the plan to the U.N. Human Rights Council hours after the Council announced it would release the long-delayed report on Wednesday calling for accountability for Sri Lankan war crimes. According to an earlier U.N. report, around 40,000 ethnic minority Tamils were killed in a final offensive ordered by former president Mahnida Rajapaksa in 2009. President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa’s bid for a third term in January, has made tentative steps toward reconciliation as head of a broad reform coalition. (Yahoo! News)
Habre Court hears testimony on mistreatment of prisoners: Rights consultant Mike Dottridge, who was stationed in Chad for Amnesty International between 1977 and 1995 testified on Habre’s trial about the conditions for prisoners during the Habre regime. Dottridge told the tribunal “Most of the [Chad] deaths were not related to torture, but from what is known in Guinea as the “black diet”- food and drinks deprivation and a lack of medical care…The amount of food was so small the prisoners would die.” Dottridge also detailed several methods used by Chad’s secret police and prison guards during the Habre regime. He explained that prisoners would have their arms and legs tied together behind their backs for long periods of time, be forced to eat and drink, endure electric shocks, among other things. The Extraordinary African Chambers will rule on the extent of the abuse and whether Habre is personally responsible.
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