extrajudicial executions – Page 6 – International Justice Resource Center

A witness testifies during Rios Montt's first genocide trial.Credit: Elena Hermosa/Trocair

Guatemalan Court Suspends Genocide Retrial of Former Dictator

January 8, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international humanitarian law, judicial independence, massacres, torture, UN treaty bodies

The retrial of former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt reopened on January 5, 2015, but was quickly suspended. [La Prensa; BBC] Charged with committing genocide and crimes against humanity against indigenous Ixil Maya of the Quiché region, the 88-year-old ex-army general is allegedly responsible for 15 massacres carried out against indigenous Mayans during his rule from 1982 to 1983,

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviews the United States

Human Rights Bodies Respond to Killings by Police in U.S.

December 12, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

Recent decisions by two grand juries in the United States not to indict white police officers for the shooting deaths of two black men, Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri, have sparked “legitimate concerns” about American police practices among United Nations human rights experts. [UN News Centre] The deaths of Garner and Brown in separate incidents

ICC Prosecutor Withdraws Charges against Kenyan President

December 9, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, extrajudicial executions, International Criminal Court, international humanitarian law

On December 5, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, withdrew the charges against Uhuru Kenyatta, the current President of Kenya, who is accused of having committed crimes against humanity committed during Kenya’s 2007-2008 election violence. The newly-withdrawn charges alleged that Kenyatta was criminally responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator of crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation or

New IACtHR Judgments Address Length of Criminal Proceedings and Forced Disappearances

December 3, 2014 IJRC armed conflict, children, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, reparations

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued judgments in two cases, one of which concerned the duration of criminal proceedings against a Peruvian soldier responsible for two civilians’ deaths, and the other the forced disappearance of children during El Salvador’s internal armed conflict. [IACtHR Press Release: Tarazona Arrieta; IACtHR Press Release: Rochac Hernández] The judgments came as the

Chadian Court Initiates First Trial against Habré-Era Security Agents

November 25, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, International Court of Justice, internationalized criminal tribunals, liberty & security of person, torture

November 14 marked the start of the trial against 26 former security agents accused of committing murder, torture, kidnapping, arbitrary detention, assault, and battery during former dictator Hissène Habré’s rule in Chad from 1982 to 1990. [Reuters; HRW: Alleged Habré Accomplices] Advocates hope that the trial, set to take place before national courts in N’Djaména, Chad, will deliver a measure

As Blackwater Security Guards Are Convicted for Nisour Square Killings, UN Working Group Pushes for Enhanced Regulation of Private Security Companies

October 29, 2014 IJRC corporate accountability, crime & impunity, extrajudicial executions, international humanitarian law, massacres, military and humanitarian intervention, security & rule of law, U.S. courts, UN Special Procedures

On October 22, jurors in a United States federal district court found four former Blackwater security guards guilty of first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis on September 16, 2007. The killings occurred while a team of security guards – code-named Raven 23 – employed by the private security company escorted a U.S. State Department

IACtHR Concludes 105th Ordinary Session, Orders Provisional Measures, Holds Public Hearing, and Delivers Judgments Involving Forced Disappearance, Indigenous Rights, and Arbitrary Killings

October 21, 2014 IJRC children, crime & impunity, cultural rights, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, property

From October 8 to 17, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held its 105th Regular Session at its headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. [IACtHR] During this session, the Court handed down three judgments, which will be publicized soon, concerning forced disappearance, indigenous land rights, and arbitrary killings. The Court also issued orders regarding provisional measures in three cases. On

In Hassan v. United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights Finds Extra-territorial Jurisdiction over Iraqi Detainee and Examines Interplay between Geneva Conventions and European Human Rights Obligations

September 17, 2014 IJRC European System, extrajudicial executions, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, military and humanitarian intervention

On September 16, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its Grand Chamber judgment in Hassan v. United Kingdom, which involved the detention of an Iraqi national, Tarek Hassan, by the British army in Iraq in 2003. The applicant alleged that the United Kingdom was responsible for Tarek’s unlawful detention, ill-treatment, and death. The key issues before the Court were whether

New United Nations Report Details Human Rights Abuses by Militias in Libya’s Ongoing Armed Conflict

September 9, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, immigration & asylum, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, property, security & rule of law, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Security Council

Last week, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) published a joint report providing an overview of human rights abuses committed in Libya from May through August 2014, amid ongoing fighting among militias for control of Benghazi and Tripoli. See UNSMIL & OHCHR, Overview of Violations of International Human Rights

Hearing in Kuna de Madungandí and Emberá de Bayano Indigenous Communities and Their Members v. Panama

Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Extrajudicial Killings, Indigenous Land Rights, Racial Profiling, and Extradition Under Review at 104th Regular and 51st Special Sessions

August 20, 2014 IJRC children, crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, liberty & security of person, property

Over the next three weeks, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will hold two sessions, one at its seat in Costa Rica and the other in Paraguay, to continue its review of six pending cases and one advisory opinion request. These cases challenge a range of human rights problems, including lack of due process in immigration and extradition proceedings, failure