Extremist Timbuktu Islamic police chief sentenced to 10 years in jail by ICC

Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud had been convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity

The international criminal court has sentenced an al-Qaida-linked extremist leader to 10 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out when he headed the Islamic police in Timbuktu in Mali, west Africa.

Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was convicted in June of torture, religious persecution and other inhumane acts. Judges found he was a “key figure” in a reign of terror after Islamic extremist rebels overran the ancient desert city in 2012.

Continue reading...

Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza

Human Rights Watch says it has evidence that suggests ‘the war crime of forcible transfer’ of civilians

Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.

The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.

Continue reading...

Not one government has paid into fund for victims of Uganda warlord, says ICC

The international criminal court awarded a record €52.4m to survivors of Dominic Ongwen’s crimes but member states have failed to contribute

Not a single country has contributed towards reparations for the victims and survivors of the Ugandan warlord Dominic Ongwen, despite the international criminal court awarding €52.4m (£44m) in February, according to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims (TFV).

The ICC reparations order – the largest in the court’s history – was issued after a 2021 ruling in which the court found Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army militia group, guilty of various war crimes committed between 2002 and 2005, including murder, torture, sexual enslavement, the conscription of children into hostilities, and brutal attacks on four camps for internally displaced people in northern Uganda.

Continue reading...

Israel ‘challenges’ international criminal court bid for Netanyahu arrest warrant

ICC requested arrest warrants for Israeli PM and his defence minister in May for alleged war crimes in Gaza

Israel has submitted an “official challenge” to a request from the international criminal court prosecutor for an arrest warrant against its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

In May the ICC’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Netanyahu condemns ‘shameful’ UK suspension of some Israel arms sales

Israeli PM says move will embolden a genocidal Hamas as British government faces growing backlash

Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the UK government’s decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel, describing it as a shameful decision that would embolden a genocidal Hamas.

The Israeli prime minister said his country was at war to also protect British hostages and vowed the UK measures would not prevent it from winning the conflict in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Britain drops its challenge to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

Labour government announces its biggest step yet in overhauling the UK’s approach to the Middle East

Labour has announced its biggest step yet in overhauling the UK’s approach to the Middle East, dropping its opposition to an international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu despite pressure from Washington not to do so.

Downing Street announced on Friday that the government would not submit a challenge to the jurisdiction of the international criminal court, whose chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking a warrant against the Israeli prime minister.

Continue reading...

ICC decision on Netanyahu arrest warrant may be delayed by UK

Britain to make legal arguments over jurisdiction in case of alleged war crimes by the Israeli PM

An intervention by the UK government at the international criminal court is expected to delay a decision over whether an arrest warrant can be issued against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Judges at the ICC ruled on Thursday they would allow the UK to make legal arguments in the case as they consider whether to approve requests made by the ICC’s chief prosecutor for warrants against Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

Continue reading...

ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian officials over alleged Ukraine war crimes

Army chief and ex-minister of defence accused over missile attacks on civilian targets including power plants

The international criminal court (ICC) at The Hague has issued arrest warrants for Russia’s ex-minister of defence and current army chief of staff for alleged war crimes in Ukraine after a missile campaign targeting Ukrainian power plants and other civilian infrastructure during the full-scale invasion.

Ex-minister of defence Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, Valery Gerasimov, are accused of the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects. They are also accused of crimes against humanity.

Continue reading...

Labour would comply with ICC arrest order for Netanyahu, Lammy reiterates

Shadow foreign secretary repeats belief in ‘rules-based order’ and also says UK would not seek EU membership

David Lammy has reiterated that Labour would seek to implement an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu if one was issued by the international criminal court.

Speaking to CNN, the shadow foreign secretary said a Labour government would comply if an order was issued for the arrest of the Israeli prime minister, adding that he expected the response to be the same all over Europe.

Continue reading...

Activists tell UK arms makers they may face criminal liability over sales to Israel

Campaign groups write to 20 firms warning of potential war crimes for roles in production of F-35 fighter jets

Campaigners have written to the directors of 20 arms manufacturers based in the UK saying they may face criminal liability for failing to prevent war crimes if their companies continue to sell military equipment to Israel.

Four groups, including the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), have written to directors of arms companies that contribute parts or elements of the F-35 fighter jets used by Israel’s air force as part of the bombing of Gaza.

Continue reading...

ICC must be allowed to carry out work ‘without intimidation’, say 93 member states

Joint statement of support for international criminal court issued following revelations of Israeli interference

The international criminal court must be allowed to carry out its work “without intimidation”, a group of 93 states has said in a significant public intervention intended to reinforce support for the judicial body.

In a joint statement issued late on Friday, the large group of ICC member states vowed to defend the institution and “preserve its integrity from any political interference and pressure against the court, its officials and those cooperating with it”.

Continue reading...

Russia accused of ‘deliberate’ starvation tactics in Mariupol in submission to ICC

Lawyers say strategy of denying food and services to people in Ukrainian city during siege could amount to war crime

Russia engaged in a “deliberate pattern” of starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022, which amounted to a war crime, according to a fresh analysis submitted to the international criminal court.

The conclusion is at the heart of a dossier in the process of being submitted to the ICC in The Hague by the lawyers Global Rights Compliance, working in conjunction with the Ukrainian government. It argues that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm large numbers of civilians.

Continue reading...

Israeli campaign against ICC may be ‘crimes against justice’, say legal experts

International lawyers believe conduct of Israeli intelligence service should be investigated by prosecutor in The Hague

Efforts by Israel’s intelligence agencies to undermine and influence the international criminal court (ICC) could amount to “offences against the administration of justice” and should be investigated by its chief prosecutor, legal experts have said.

Responding to revelations about Israeli surveillance and espionage operations against the ICC, multiple leading international law experts said the conduct of Israeli intelligence services could amount to criminal offences.

Continue reading...

Wednesday briefing: How Israeli intelligence spent nine years interfering with an international court

In today’s newsletter: a Guardian investigation details a ‘war’ on the international criminal court by the country – here’s what we know so far

Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning. “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”

That is a terrifying message for anyone to hear from the head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. Even more astonishing is that this was a message to the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC).

Israel-Gaza war | The Biden administration has said recent Israeli operations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any US red lines, and that it is closely monitoring a probe into Sunday’s deadly strike on a tent camp it called “tragic”. The comments came as Israeli tanks were seen in central Rafah.

General election 2024 | Angela Rayner has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Greater Manchester police, with the deputy Labour leader attacking the “desperate tactics” of Tory MPs that led to the investigation. Elsewhere, it has been reported that Diane Abbott has had the party whip restored – but will not be allowed to stand again for Labour at the next election.

Trump trial | Donald Trump’s secret plot to bury negative press ahead of the 2016 election deprived Americans of their right to choose a candidate at the ballot box, the prosecution said in closing arguments at the former president’s New York hush-money trial. Read the key takeaways as the jury begins its deliberations on Wednesday.

Georgia | Georgia’s parliament has voted to override a presidential veto on the controversial “foreign influence” law, a move that is poised to derail the EU aspirations of many Georgians in favour of closer ties with Moscow. The bill is now likely to become law in the coming days.

Ticket prices | Some of the most powerful ticket touts in the UK have discussed a secret plan to try to scupper a Labour crackdown on the industry via a lobbying campaign, footage filmed by the Guardian reveals. At a private event this month, one of the UK’s biggest ticket touts warned that “we are fucked” if Labour’s clampdown went ahead.

Continue reading...

Blinken willing to work with Congress on potential sanctions against ICC

Republicans seek help from secretary of state after prosecutor Karim Khan requests arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu

The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to potentially impose sanctions against international criminal court officials over the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said on Tuesday.

At a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wanted to see renewed US sanctions on the court in response to the move announced by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday.

Continue reading...

Israel calls on ‘civilised nations’ to boycott ICC arrest warrants against its leaders

Government urges ‘free world’ to oppose warrants against Netanyahu and defence minister for war crimes in Gaza

Israel has urged what it called “nations of the civilised world” to refuse to implement any international criminal court arrest warrants issued against its leaders.

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the world’s top court, announced on Monday that his office had applied to a pre-trial panel for arrest warrants for three senior Hamas officials, as well as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Hamas attack of 7 October and the ensuing seven-month-old war in Gaza.

Continue reading...

ICC urged to delay possible war crimes charges against Israel and Hamas

G7 diplomats argue any move now in investigation launched in 2021 could disrupt current ceasefire talks

Diplomats from the G7 industrialised nations have urged officials at the international criminal court not to announce war crimes charges against Israel or Hamas officials, amid concerns that such a move could disrupt the chances of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks.

Israeli politicians including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have suggested that the ICC could press charges imminently after an investigation launched in 2021 that covers events starting in 2014. The inquiry has also been looking at Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied territory.

Continue reading...

UK lawyer to oversee ICC investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories

Andrew Cayley, previously Britain’s chief military prosecutor, to run operation of the complex case

A senior British lawyer has been appointed to oversee the international criminal court’s investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the Guardian understands.

Andrew Cayley, a barrister and former military prosecutor, has recently joined the ICC after he was chosen by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to lead the high-profile investigation.

Continue reading...

Taiwan considers joining ICC to deter potential China invasion

Joining court would allow investigation of Xi Jinping if he were to order act of war against Taiwan

Taiwan’s government is considering joining the international criminal court, in part to increase deterrence of a Chinese attack or invasion.

Supporters also say it would help universalise the international legal system, which has a low presence in Asia, and increase Taiwan’s global participation at a time when Beijing works to keep it as isolated as possible.

Continue reading...

Former Yugoslavia countries must face past horrors or risk return to conflict, Council of Europe official says

Council’s commissioner for human rights says some people prosecuted in the Hague for war crimes ‘return to their communities as heroes’

The failure of the countries of the former Yugoslavia to address their violent past has had devastating consequences for human rights and could ultimately lead to a return to conflict in the region, according to a new Council of Europe report.

The report, published on Thursday by the council’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, said the region has been backsliding for many years on seeking justice and accountability for the brutal wars of the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, which killed more than 130,000 people.

Continue reading...