war crimes

Spanish Judge to Probe Israel's Deadly Gaza Strike

MADRID - A Spanish judge on Monday decided to go ahead with a probe into alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza by top Israeli military figures despite a request by public prosecutors that he shelve the case.

Public prosecutors made their recommendation last month on the grounds that the alleged crimes in question were already under investigation in Israel, but National Court judge Fernando Andreu ruled that this is not the case, according to a copy of the ruling obtained by AFP.

Posted in war crimes, Israel/Palestine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
9:00 AM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Tel: +1-212-216-1832
Email: hrwpress@hrw.org

Guinea: Rein in Soldiers

Armed Robbery, Extortion, and Intimidation Under New Government

DAKAR - April 27 - Guinean soldiers have been implicated in regular acts of theft and violence against businesspeople and ordinary citizens since a new government took power in a military coup in December 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. The new government should put a stop to these attacks and make certain that the police, gendarmerie, and judiciary carry out independent investigations and prosecute implicated soldiers.

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Posted in Human Rights, war crimes

US to Release Photos Showing Alleged Abuses by American Personnel

$File picture shows a demonstrator dressed as an Abu Ghraib prisoner protesting outside the White House in Washington, DC. Top US officials, not a \"few bad apples\" of low rank, were behind harsh military interrogation tactics that spread from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan to Iraq, a new Senate report said. (AFP/File/Karen Bleier)$

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration agreed late Thursday to release dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse by U.S. personnel during the Bush administration of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least 44 pictures will be released by May 28 -- making public for the first time images of what the military investigated as abuse that took place at facilities other than the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Defense Department officials would not say exactly what is contained in the photos, but said they are concerned that the release could incite a backlash in the Middle East.

Posted in war crimes

How Bush's Torture Helped Al-Qaeda

Captured al-Qaeda operatives, facing the threat or reality of torture, appear to have fed the Bush administration's obsession about Iraq, buying Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders time to rebuild their organization inside nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Posted in torture, war crimes, war on terror

Israeli Forces 'Can't Clear Themselves'

$A Palestinian approaches a flare on a main street in Gaza City, January 2009. Human Rights Watch has said that the Israeli army's investigation of troop conduct during its war on Gaza appeared to be an attempt to cover up \"violations of the laws of war. \"(AFP/File/Mahmud Hams)$ GAZA CITY - A coalition of Jewish and Arab human rights groups have criticised as inadequate an Israel Defence Forces investigation into its activities during the January offensive in Gaza.

The IDF's internal investigation found that no Palestinian civilians were harmed intentionally by IDF soldiers during the 23-day offensive, which killed more than 1300 Palestinians and wounded more than 4000.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak hailed the report as further proof of the IDF's moral stature.

Posted in Equality/Justice, war crimes, Israel/Palestine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2009
9:08 AM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Tel: +1-212-216-1832
Email: hrwpress@hrw.org

Israel/Gaza: Israeli Military Investigation Not Credible

Israel and Hamas Should Cooperate With UN Investigation

JERUSALEM - April 23 - The Israeli military's findings about the conduct of its forces in Gaza, announced on April 22, lack credibility and confirm the need for an impartial international inquiry into alleged violations by both Israel and Hamas, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel and Hamas should cooperate with Justice Richard Goldstone, the eminent international jurist appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate serious laws-of-war violations during the recent conflict.

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Posted in war crimes, Israel/Palestine

IDF: Probes Prove No War Crimes Committed in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday that an internal investigation has determined that no civilians were purposefully harmed by IDF troops during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

The inquiries were performed by five IDF colonels who were not involved in the fighting in Cast Lead, and examined reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, medical personnel and facilities, United Nations facilities, and also the use of white phosphorous.

Posted in war crimes, Israel/Palestine

Torturers Should Be Punished

SPOKANE, Wash. - George W. Bush insisted that the U.S. did not use torture.

But the four Bush-era Office of Legal Counsel memos released last week by the Obama administration's Justice Department paint a starkly different picture. The declassified memos provided legal authorization for "harsh interrogation techniques" used by the Bush administration in the years following Sept. 11, 2001. They authorized (as listed in the Aug. 1, 2002, memo by then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee) "walling ...

Posted in impeach bybee, prosecuting bush, torture, war crimes

Tamil Civilians Slaughtered as Army Shells 'No-Fire Zone'

Hundreds of civilians are being killed or seriously injured in artillery and gun attacks as the Sri Lankan army attempts to finish off the last Tamil Tiger rebels trapped in a shrinking pocket of land.

Injured civilians lucky enough to get out have told of carnage in this so-called "no-fire zone" - a 17 sq km strip of coast where the Tigers are penned in with their backs to the sea.

Posted in war crimes, sri lanka

Mr. President, War Crimes Must Be Investigated

The memos about torture released by the Obama administration are horrifying to read. Nothing new, here, but they are like a punch in the stomach all over again. This is my country? This is the nation that stands for freedom and decency?

I understand why President Obama doesn't want to prosecute those who believed they were acting under laws written by the Justice Department. But that is not the only policy he and other Democrats can pursue.

Posted in prosecuting bush, torture, war crimes