[Dhaka Tribune] International war crimes judges ruled on Thursday that a probe into wartime abuses in Afghanistan must go ahead, including looking into possible atrocities committed by US forces, as they overturned a previous court ruling.
Pre-trial judges at the International Criminal Court last year rejected a demand by its chief prosecutor to open a full-blown probe into crimes committed in the war-torn nation - an investigation also bitterly opposed by Washington.
Prosecutors at The Hague appealed the move, saying that the judges made an error when they slapped down Fatou Bensouda's request by saying although it met all the right criteria and a reasonable basis, it was "not in the interest of justice."
The appeals judges agreed with the prosecution.
The US has never joined the ICC and does not recognise its authority over American citizens, saying it poses a threat to national illusory sovereignty.
"The prosecutor is authorised to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003," ICC judge Piotr Hofmanski said.
"It is for the prosecutor to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation."
Pre-trial judges are only called upon to see if there is a reasonable basis for an investigation and not to "review the prosecutor's analysis," he said.
In fact, the appeals judges said, prosecutors could even look into possible atrocities outside of Afghanistan if they were clearly linked to its armed conflict.
ICC prosecutors previously said their investigation would include alleged war crimes by US Central Intelligence Agency operatives at detention facilities, referred to as "black sites" in ICC member countries like Lithuania, Poland and Romania.
At least 24 suspects were subjected to torture at these secret prisons between 2003-2004, the prosecutors said.
In 2006, the ICC's prosecutors opened a preliminary probe into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the central Asian nation since 2003.
In 2017 Bensouda asked judges to allow a full-blown inquiry, not only into Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... and Afghan government personnel but also international forces, US troops and CIA members.
But pre-trial judges then said it "would not serve the interests of justice" and that the court should focus on cases with a better chance of success.
Human rights groups on Thursday hailed the decision to uphold the prosecutions' appeal.
Bensouda's move had unleashed a backlash from the US government, which in April last year revoked the Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by The Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... n-born chief prosecutor's visa as part of broader restrictions on ICC staff probing American or allied personnel.
Former national security advisor John Bolton warned in 2018 that the US would arrest ICC judges if the court pursued an Afghan probe.
The US has never joined the ICC and does not recognise its authority over American citizens, saying it poses a threat to national illusory sovereignty.
Washington argues that it has its own procedures in place to deal with US troops who engage in misconduct.
Afghanistan also opposes the inquiry, saying the country itself had "responsibility to bring justice for our nation and for our people."
BREAKING: The Israeli central elections committee published the results of the elections: Netanyahu's right wing bloc with only 58 seat (Likud 36 seats) and Benny Gantz's center-left bloc with 62 seat (Blue and White 33 seats). Netanyahu doesn't have majority to form a government
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2020 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
That's not exact.
The anti-Bibi block has 55 mandates with Arabs*.
Liberman has 7. And Liberman promised his voters not to sit with Arabs (there is something personal between him and Bibi, which nobody else understands).
*The only Israeli PM till now who ruled with Arab support was Yitzhak Rabin.
[AnNahsr] A senior US official on Thursday called on Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to support The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... 's military operation in Syria, where it has lost more than 50 soldiers trying to hold back a Russian-backed offensive on the last rebel stronghold.
"One of the principles that the president (Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... ) and the US Congress share is that there should be a collective effort, not just of Turkey and the US but of our NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... allies, essentially the Europeans," said the US special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, at a conference in Istanbul.
"We are pressing the Europeans to contribute a great deal," he added.
The Syrian government, backed by Russian air power, has steadily retaken swathes of Idlib since launching its offensive in December, forcing close to a million people from their homes in the biggest displacement of the nine-year conflict.
Turkey fears another major influx of refugees, adding to the 3.6 million Syrians it already hosts.
It announced a full operation against Syrian forces following an air strike that killed 34 of its soldiers on February 27.
Turkey has requested greater military support from its NATO partners, and has sought to pressure Europe by removing restrictions on migrants colonists trying to leave its territory for the EU.
NATO has offered its solidarity to Turkey, but has yet to take concrete action.
"There's a Spanish Patriot (missile defence) unit right now deployed in Turkey at the Incirlik airbase, that's an example of things that NATO is actually doing and we want to see more actions like that," said Jeffrey.
He acknowledged the situation had been complicated by Turkey's decision to buy a Russian missile defence system, the S-400, which was strongly opposed by NATO.
"We are looking for ways to work around it but for the moment that is an issue," Jeffrey said of the S-400.
#2
Would it matter if we didn't have American personnel in Turkey. Need to have a Jesus-come-to-meeting session with the senior officer corps and its fixation with the global strategies of the 1950s.
#3
Ref #2: Need to have a Jesus-come-to-meeting session with the senior officer corps and its fixation with the global strategies of the 1950s.\
Start with the Congress, then move over to Foggy Bottom, then out to McLean. Only then with the military leadership trundle along with any sense of urgency.
#8
Very strange... or a brilliant bit of reverse psychology? To wit: In broad terms the EU hates the US and will reflexively oppose whatever it suggests.
Siding with the Russians is also a practical stance since controls a lot of euro energy.
James Franklin Jeffrey (born February 8, 1946) currently serves as the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL.[1][2] He is a senior American diplomat and expert in political, security, and energy issues in the Middle East, Turkey, Germany, and the Balkans.
He has held senior assignments in Washington, D.C., and abroad, including as United States Ambassador to Iraq (2010–2012); United States Ambassador to Turkey (2008–2010); Deputy National Security Advisor (2007–2008); and United States Ambassador to Albania (2002–2004). In 2010 Jeffrey was appointed to the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, Career Ambassador. From 1969 to 1976, Jeffrey was a U.S. Army infantry officer, with service in Germany and Vietnam.
Jeffrey is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a member of the CIA External Advisory Board, a member of the American Council on Germany, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the advisory board for DC-based non-profit America Abroad Media.[3] He is a frequent commentator on broader foreign policy, national security, and economic trends.
#10
Skid mark,
My understanding is that a number of Italian manufacturers, such as leather belt and goods makers know the value of a “made in Italy” tag with regards to setting price points. They have encouraged a good number of Chinese workers to come and work in Italy at much lower wages than locals... and quicker too. The jobs are still better than your typical Chinese sweat shop.
Dead bodies are “piling up” in #Qom due to the #coronavirus outbreak, an Iranian MP says, warning that if the city is not quarantined, #Iran will end up having the most deaths in the world due to the virus.https://t.co/So1j3fSZKw
#Coronavirus to infect up to 40% of Tehran’s population within next two weeks, says an infectious disease specialist and member of Iran’s national influenza committee.#Iranhttps://t.co/blndcdMmpX
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2020 6:45 Comments ||
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#2
Huge increase in confirmed (official) infections in Iran yesterday, about 1700. The disease may be spreading so fast there that, even if the govt wanted to be accurate they couldn't be.
this compares with about 800 new cases in SKOR, 800 new cases in Italy and about 130 new cases in Hubai Province in China
Speaking of China, outside of Hubai Province the efforts to prevent the spread of the virus have been, assuming the reported numbers are correct, surprisingly successful, e.g., Hunan Province which borders Hubai has had only 1000 confirmed cases and only 4 deaths. In fact outside Hubai only about 100 deaths in total so far (again if official reports are correct).
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/06/2020 10:54 Comments ||
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#Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei calls on #India to “confront extremist Hindus” and “stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam”. https://t.co/ruvK8BajOT
#2
Consider them India's Bahai. Really, really violent Bahai.
Posted by: Black Charlie Flerong3458 ||
03/06/2020 15:09 Comments ||
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#3
Heh. Haven't seen the recent Guardian handwringing mentioned hereabouts. Redundant for most of you, info-wise, but worth a click for the elephant walk pic up top.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/06/2020 10:26 Comments ||
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#3
Along with the Belgian Airstrikes...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2020 10:32 Comments ||
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#4
...And what sort of Rules of Engagement will they fly under?
"If Syrian you may shoot if they look hostile (assuming your legal officer can decide if self-defense is okay before you have to eject. Note: this assumes said legal officer let you take off with live ordnance.);
If Turkish you should ignore any aerial bombing of Kurdish civilians,
If Israeli you should call for the ICC and stay overhead with a camera, and
If Russian ... Run Away!" (/sarc)
#6
/\ I meant what the typical EU-member pilot would be told to do if encountering... I can see that Idlib, from the Israeli viewpoint, is a place where enemies and potential enemies are destroying each other -- time to sit back with a bag of popcorn lest you distract them from mutual slaughter.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
