ICC Prosecution witness testifies on rebels arms civilians in Ntaganda trial: Witness P907, a former fighter with the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), said that commanders provided guns to civilians and encouraged them to pillage towns that were predominantly populated by rival ethnic groups. P907 testified for the prosecution, with protective measures in place. He stated that civilians often exceeded orders and engaged in combat and murder. He testified that civilians acted as reinforcements to UPC troops in Mongbwalu town which was attacked three different times in 2002-2003. P907 testified that the civilians were instructed to move behind the troops and give any property of great value to soldiers. It was at this time that the civilians broke into homes, pillaged and committed murder according to the witness. Witness P907 was testifying in the ICC case against Ntaganda, who is on trial for 18 charges, 15 courts of war crimes, and three counts of crimes against humanity. (International Justice Monitor)
Mladic defense calls expert witness on forensics of mass grave: Demographic expert Svetlana Radovanovic Radovanovic testified for Mladic’s defense before the ICTY on Tuesday, 26 April 2016 about the bodies exhumed from the Tomasica mine. Radovanovic testified that the prosecutions’ demographic expert Ewa Tabeau should have mentioned the possibility that some of the victims could have been killed in battles based on the dates of their death. Radovanovic told the court “[I]t is insinuated that all the deaths were caused by execution or ethnic cleansing…The fact is that not all the deaths happened under those circumstances, because there was data about fighting as well.” She also stated that the prosecution’s pathology expert John Clark did not exclude the possibility that some of the Tomasica victims were killed in battles. Radovanovic’s testimony will continue on Thursday in the case against Mladic at the ICTY for genocide. (Balkan Insight)
ECCC hears testimony of former S-21 interrogator: Former S-21 interrogator, Lach Mean testified at the ECCC Wednesday, 27 April 2016 about how interrogators were instructed to be thorough in extracting confessions. He testified that “[s]ometimes we have to threaten the prisoners to ensure they give us the correct answers,” and that when senior Khmer Rouge officials were implicated Mean said that confessions would be sent to former S-21 chairman Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch for feedback. If Eav did not believe that the prisoners had stated full answers, interrogators would resume questioning. Mean testified that typical physical coercion included beating prisoners with tree branches and sticking an electric wire to a prisoner’s earlobe. He also recalled a female prisoner who was sent to S-21 for committing a “moral offense” and becoming pregnant, who “disemboweled herself, that is, she cut open her abdomen with a razor.” Mean was testifying for the prosecution in Case 002 against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. (Phnom Penh Post)
US refuses visa to Afghan VP over war crimes allegations: Afghanistan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum was reportedly refused an American visa due to allegations of war crimes. He had planned a trip and was reportedly notified of the decision not to grant the visa days before he was set to leave. The trip was intended to allow Vice President Dostum to discuss how best to defeat the Taliban with US administration officials. In an interview on Saturday, 23 April 2016 Vice president Dostum stated that he cancelled the trip due to the tenuous security situation in the county, and that he also planned to address a special session of the UN General Assembly on drug trafficking. (albawaba News)
The post 27 April 2016 – NEWS ABOUT THE COURTS – Ntaganda prosecution witness testimony, Mladic defense calls expert, ECCC testimony on S-21 and more appeared first on ICL Media Review.