ICC greenlights Afghan war crimes investigation
Print Edition
Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court yesterday gave the green light for prosecutors to open an investigation targeting the Taliban, Afghan forces, the United States military and CIA personnel for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The decision marked the first time the court鈥檚 prosecutor was authorized to investigate US forces. Washington has long rejected the court鈥檚 jurisdiction and refuses to cooperate with it.
The decision to uphold an appeal by prosecutors against a pretrial chamber鈥檚 rejection last year of Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda鈥檚 request to open a probe in Afghanistan puts the global court on a collision course with the US.
Last year, pretrial judges acknowledged widespread crimes have been committed in Afghanistan, but rejected the investigation saying it wouldn鈥檛 be in the interests of justice because the expected lack of cooperation meant convictions would ultimately be unlikely.
Even though an investigation has now been authorized, it remains to be seen if any suspects eventually indicted by prosecutors will appear in court in The Hague. Both Afghanistan and the US strongly oppose the investigation.
At a hearing last year, prosecutors argued that pretrial judges at the global court overstepped their powers last year when they refused to authorize an investigation. The appeals judges agreed.
鈥淭he Appeals Chamber considers it appropriate to amend the appealed decision to the effect that the prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, as well as other alleged crimes that have a nexus to the armed conflict in Afghanistan,鈥 Presiding Judge Piotr Hofmanski said.
After a preliminary probe in Afghanistan that lasted more than a decade, Bensouda asked judges in 2017 to authorize a far-reaching investigation.
She said information exists implicating multiple members of the US military and intelligence agencies who 鈥渃ommitted acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003-2004 period.鈥
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