In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Africa

25 Jul

Although clearly a step up from its genocidal predecessor, Kagame's government in Rwanda is anything but progressive. According to the State Department, the government is responsible for -- inter alia -- illegal detention, torture, enforced disappearance, attempted assassinations of political opponents, restrictions on the freedom of speech and press, violence toward journalists and human rights advocates, discrimination against women/children/gays and...

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18 Jul

It looks increasingly likely.  Mali has formally self-referred the situation in the country to the ICC and the OTP has already opened a formal preliminary investigation.  Here is yesterday's statement from Fatou Bensouda: Today I received a delegation from the Government of Mali led by the Minister of Justice, H.E. Malick Coulibaly. The delegation transmitted a letter by which the Government...

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10 Jul

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first person convicted at the ICC, has been sentenced to fourteen years in prison.  From the Court's press release: Today, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to a total period of 14 years of imprisonment. The Chamber, composed of Judge Adrian Fulford, Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito and Judge René Blattmann,...

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07 Jul

Not surprisingly, Taylor insists that she did nothing wrong -- and that Saif Gaddafi cannot possibly get a fair trial in Libya.  First, regarding the so-called "coded letter," which has always been the most bizarre Libyan allegation: AUSTRALIAN lawyer Melinda Taylor says documents considered "coded" by Libyan authorities who jailed her were simply innocent doodles. [snip] After her release on Monday, Ms Taylor...

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03 Jul

Now that Taylor is finally free, we can turn our attention again to the ongoing saga of who is going to prosecute Saif Gaddafi -- Libya or the ICC.  A recent article in the Independent indicates that the correct answer may well be "neither": Ms Taylor said she was “very happy” to be able to return to her family. The proceedings...

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02 Jul

I have to admit, I've been very surprised by the negative reactions I've received concerning my belief that the ICC should not have expressed regret or apologized to Libya for Melinda Taylor's (alleged) misconduct.  It seems that most people -- or at least most of the people who have emailed me -- think that the Court should have done anything...

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02 Jul

In my previous post, I noted that Libya's representative to the ICC unequivocally acknowledged that Libyan courts could not prosecute Taylor for the alleged misconduct that led to her detention.  Apparently, not all Libyan officials are on the same page; witness what a "senior member of the Libyan attorney-general's office" told the BBC earlier today about Taylor and the others: "They...

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02 Jul

The Australian media is reporting that Melinda Taylor is heading home, having being illegally detained by the Libyan government for 25 days.  That is fantastic news -- and for Taylor and her family, it does not matter why she is free. Institutionally, however, the reason for her release matters a great deal.  So it is very important to note that,...

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25 Jun

An excellent new report by the Guardian contains a number of interesting tidbits.  To begin with, the report confirms that Taylor -- like her erstwhile client -- is being held by the Zintan rebels, not by the Libyan government, and that the relationship between the two is strained: Even if the NTC decides to release Melinda Taylor, it will face the...

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25 Jun

I obviously disagreed with the ICC's decision to issue the non-apology apology, but I sincerely hoped that it would at least lead to Taylor's release.  Unfortunately, Libya has given no indication that, having suitably humiliated both the Court and Bob Carr, it has any intention of releasing her: Carr said Friday’s talks in the Hague between the ICC and Libyan authorities...

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23 Jun

As Mark Kersten has already ably discussed at Justice in Conflict, the ICC released a statement yesterday regarding Melinda Taylor's detention.  Ironically, although I think everything about the statement is profoundly devastating to the Court's credibility, I am actually slightly less bothered than Mark by the "regret" section of the statement: The ICC deeply regrets any events that may have given...

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