Jurist

Crimea: 10 years of illegal occupation

Amnesty International states in a report issued March 18 that during 10 years of illegal occupation, Russia has attempted to reshape the demography of the Crimean Peninsula. It has also suppressed Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identities through "restrictions on education, religion, media, representative institutions, [the] judicial system, and cultural celebrations."

UN calls for urgent action on escalating Syria violence

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a report March 11 concerning the most severe escalation of violence in the country since 2020. Explosions during a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs triggered the escalation, which began in October, leading to a series of indiscriminate attacks by Syrian and Russian forces on opposition-held areas. The commission emphasizes that these attacks may constitute war crimes, targeting hospitals, schools, markets, and displaced persons camps.

Syrian ex-VP Rifaat al-Assad indicted for war crimes

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Switzerland indicted former Syrian vice president Rifaat al-Assad on March 12, referring him to the Federal Criminal Court for trial. The OAG accuses al-Assad of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity while serving as commander of a military operation in the city of Hama in February 1982. The OAG charged al-Assad with ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatment and illegal detentions against civilians during the operation, which came to be known as the Hama Massacre. Government forces had been deployed to Hama to suppress the Islamist opposition, particularly a faction of the Muslim Brotherhood. The OAG estimates the month-long operation led to between 3,000 and 6,000 deaths in the city, the majority civilians.

UN report: 'crimes against humanity' in Belarus

The UN Human Rights Council released a report March 15 on the situation in Belarus during and since the country's presidential election in 2020. It concludes that the crime against humanity of "persecution" may have been committed in the country.

Russia: protesters detained amid 'farce' election

Russian human rights monitor OVD-Info  reported March 17 that at least 65 people in 16 cities were detained in connection with the "Noon Against Putin" protest, an initiative organized by the opposition, calling for voters to cast their ballots against incumbent President Vladimir Putin at noon that day. Russians gathered at the appointed time outside several polling stations.

Peru: 'impunity' bill for crimes against humanity

The Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress on March 12 approved Bill No. 6951/2023-CR, which establishes that no one may be prosecuted, sentenced or punished for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before July 1, 2002. As a result, emblematic cases from the period of internal violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000, which are still awaiting a definitive judicial response, could be closed.

Vietnam lists Montagnard groups as 'terrorist'

Vietnam announced on March 7 that it has listed two pro-separatist Montagnard groups based in the US as "terrorist organizations." The term Montagnard refers to various highland ethnic minorities, also collectively known as the Dega, that are distinct from the country's majority Viet population. Under the "terrorist" designation, anyone found by Vietnamese authorities to have engaged with or aided the organizations may face criminal charges.

UN condemns increase in West Bank settlement

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk released a statement March 8 condemning Israel's latest expansion of settlements in the West Bank as well as the marked increase in "illegal" Israeli settlements over the last year, along with increasing extremist settler violence against Palestinians residing in the territory.

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