Kenya TC says decision on admissibility of statements from recanted witnesses by July: During a status conference held on Friday 5 June 2015 before Trial Chamber V (a), Presiding Judge Childe Eboe-Osuji said the court will issue a decision before 16 July 2015 on whether the prosecution will be allowed to use statements of six witnesses who had recanted or withdrawn their evidence. Before a decision is rendered, parties in the case are invited to give their views regarding the prosecutor’s application to have the statements admitted before the three-judge bench that is hearing the case against Deputy president William Ruto and former broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang. The Court has yet to set a date for a hearing where parties to the case can conduct oral hearings of the application. (allAfrica)
App created to assist with documenting war crimes: The International Bar Association and the legal services division of the information firm LexisNexis have collaborated to create an app that enables civilians in conflict-torn countries to capture and share verifiable footage of war crimes. This app is called EyeWitness to Atrocities and is designed to record photos, videos, and audio recordings in a secure way; including stamping recordings with GPS coordinates, time and location of the media, location of recording, and whether it has been edited. The initiative for this application stems from difficulties that prosecutors experienced in relying on disputed footage of the alleged execution of captured Tamil Tiger fighters during Sri Lanka’s civil war. (For additional information please click here and click here) (Reuters, The Guardian, BBC)
African Court orders re-opening of Burkina Faso murder case: On Friday 5 June 2015, The African Court for Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) ordered the government of Burkina Faso to”reopen the investigation in order to locate, prosecute and try those responsible for the murders of Norbert Zongo and his three companions.” The judges also ordered Burkina Faso’s government to pay 25 million CFA francs (38,000 euros) to each of the victims’ partners, as well as 15 million CFA francs to each of their children. The bodies of Zongo & his three colleagues were found in a burnt-out car in 1998, and after investigations the Burkinabe authorities closed the case in 2006 saying there was a lack of evidence. (For additional information please click here and click here) (Yahoo! News, StarAfrica, Global Post)
Bangladesh Supreme Court received 8 appeals on war crimes convictions: Eight convicts are waiting for an appeal hearing in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the International Crimes Tribunal. Those eight convicts are; Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Meer Kashem Ali, Mobarrak Hossain, Syed Muhammad Quasar, ATM Azharul Islam, Abdus Subjan and fugitive Engr Abdul Jobbar. The Supreme Court wrapped up the appeal hearing of three cases against Jamaat’s secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, in the meantime. (The Financial Express)
Report for UN envoy for children documents violations to children in Israel / Palestine: In a 22-page confidential country report obtained by Reuters on Friday, U.N. agencies in Israel and Palestinian territories reported an alarming number of child victims in Israel’s war last year in the Gaza Strip but were split on whether Israel should be put on a list of violators of children’s rights. The reported violations came from information sent to the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui of Algeria, in preparation for an annual report she was preparing. A U.N. inquiry published in April 2015 said Israeli soldiers had fired on seven U.N. schools during the Gaza war. (For additional information please click here) (The Jerusalem Post, Al Arabiya News)
Serbia calls on ICTY to conclude Seselj trial: The Serbian government’s legal representative, Sasa Obradovic, called for the Vojislav Seselj proceedings before the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) to be concluded as soon as possible. Obradovic says the proceedings take an excessive amount of time and impact the indictees’ health, alleging that eleven years of proceedings has constituted a violation of Seselj’s human rights. (b92)
