UNITED NATIONS: International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and a young Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Daesh fighters pushed Iraq on Thursday to allow a United Nations investigation into crimes by the militant group.
Britain is drafting a United Nations Security Council resolution to establish a UN investigation, but Clooney said the Iraqi government needs to send a letter formally requesting the inquiry before the 15-member council can vote.
Daesh is committing genocide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq to destroy the minority religious community through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes, UN experts reported in June last year.
Clooney, who represents Nadia Murad and other Yazidi victims of Daesh, said that despite public support by Iraq for a UN investigation, the government has not yet made a request.
“We do want to see an investigation take place with the cooperation of the Iraqi authorities,” Clooney told Reuters in an interview after speaking at a United Nations event on accountability for crimes committed by Daesh.
“But ultimately if that support is not forthcoming in terms of real action, then the UN has to think of other ways in which to achieve accountability,” she said.
The Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Daesh militants consider the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers.
Clooney said the Security Council could establish an inquiry without Iraq’s consent, the 193-member UN General Assembly could establish a special team to preserve evidence and prepare cases — as it did for Syria in December — or the Security Council could refer the case to the International Criminal Court.
“All these options are on the table. They must be seriously considered, because victims like Nadia can’t expect to wait forever,” said Clooney, adding that it was extremely important that evidence was preserved for future prosecution.
When asked what may be preventing Iraq from requesting the investigation, Murad, 23, speaking through a translator, said: “They think that all Iraqis are persecuted by Daesh and they have to seek justice for everybody.”
“We will be seeking help and assistance,” Iraq’s UN ambassador, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, told the UN event where Murad also spoke. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why Iraq had not yet requested a UN inquiry.
Britain’s UN ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told the UN event that he was working with Iraq on the issue.
“The proposal should support Iraq’s national efforts and fully respect it national laws and sovereignty. But it is also an urgent task. And we look forward to finalizing that proposal with you very, very soon,” he said.
Murad was abducted and held by Daesh fighters for three months in 2014 in Mosul. She told her story to the UN Security Council in December 2015 and since then has been campaigning for justice.
An exhausted Murad told UN ambassadors on Thursday: “My words, tears and my testimony have not made you act. I wonder whether there is any point in continuing my campaign at all.”
Amal Clooney to Iraq: Allow UN probe of Daesh crimes
Amal Clooney to Iraq: Allow UN probe of Daesh crimes
Finland jails Russian for life over 2014 ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine
The prosecution had accused Torden of five counts of war crimes that resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers
HELSINKI: A Finnish court on Friday sentenced a Russian neo-Nazi to life in prison on war crimes charges stemming from a 2014 clash in Ukraine, with Kyiv hailing the ruling as a “key milestone.”
The Helsinki district court found Vojislav Torden, a commander of the Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group Rusich, guilty of “four different war crimes” committed in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine.
His lawyer, Heikki Lampela, told Finnish media that Torden was surprised by the ruling and would appeal it.
The prosecution had accused Torden of five counts of war crimes that resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers.
The court dismissed the main count, which argued the Rusich forces ambushed a convoy of two vehicles, a truck and a car, carrying Ukrainian soldiers on September 5, 2014.
As other groups were also present, the court said the prosecution had not proven that Rusich and Torden were responsible for the ambush.
However, Torden was found guilty of leading the actions of Rusich’s soldiers at the scene following the ambush and of killing one wounded soldier.
He was also found guilty of authorizing fighters to mutilate Ivan Issyk by cutting the symbol used by the group — the kolovrat, or “spoked wheel” — into his cheek.
The emblem is often used by ultranationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Russia and Eastern Europe. Issyk died as a result of his wounds.
Torden was also found guilty of having taken derogatory photos of a fallen soldier at the scene and posting it to social media.
The office of the Ukraine’s prosecutor general on Friday hailed the court’s decision as “a key milestone in holding perpetrators of grave violations of international humanitarian law accountable.”
“Ukraine remains committed to working with partners worldwide to ensure there is no impunity for war criminals,” it said in a statement posted on social media.
According to Finnish public broadcaster YLE, Torden was arrested by Finnish border guards at Helsinki airport as he tried to leave the country in August 2023.
He was on the EU sanctions list and banned from entering Finland.
Ukraine had sought Torden’s extradition, which Finland’s supreme court rejected, citing the risk of him not receiving a fair trial and suffering inhumane conditions in prison.
In October last year, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completed a comprehensive probe launched in December 2023.
The investigation involved close cooperation with Ukrainian prosecutors and security services as well as Europol, the International Criminal Court and Eurojust — the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.
Finland applies “universal jurisdiction,” a legal principle allowing it to bring charges on its soil for suspected serious crimes committed anywhere in the world.
‘Strong G7 unity’ on Ukraine in talks: host Canada
- “We were able to find strong G7 unity on a variety of issues … in particular is the one linked to Ukraine,” Joly said
CHARLEVOIX, Canada: Group of Seven foreign ministers reached a unified statement backing US-led calls for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, host Canada said Friday, despite friction with President Donald Trump.
“I can say that through our long conversations, we were able to find strong G7 unity on a variety of issues that were discussed and one that I would like to highlight in particular is the one linked to Ukraine,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on the last day of the talks in Quebec.
UK police extend detention of North Sea crash captain
- Police were granted two extensions on Wednesday and Thursday
- Police cited the location of both vessels at sea as one of the complications facing the probe
LONDON: UK police Friday again extended the detention of the captain of a cargo ship which struck a tanker in the North Sea, citing the “complexities” of the case.
The Russian captain was arrested Monday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after his ship, the Solong, slammed into the tanker anchored off the coast of Hull in northeastern England, setting both ships ablaze and leaving one sailor presumed dead.
Police were granted two extensions on Wednesday and Thursday to allow more time to question the 59-year-old captain due to “the complexities of the incident,” the local Humberside police force said in a statement.
Police cited the location of both vessels at sea as one of the complications facing the probe, with the ships on fire for several days after the incident, requiring a massive firefighting response.
While all crew onboard the jet fuel-laden tanker, the US-flagged Stena Immaculate, were safely rescued, one sailor from the Portuguese-flagged Solong remains missing and presumed dead.
Although the government has ruled out foul play, investigators are still determining the causes of the crash, in which the Solong never deviated from its course and slammed into the Stena at 16 knots an hour.
Pockets of fire were still being reported on the deck of the Solong on Thursday evening, according to the UK Coast Guard.
“Extensive lines of enquiry are continuing,” police said.
Salvage teams boarded the vessels on Thursday to carry out initial damage assessments.
UN migration agency laying off around 20 percent of HQ staff amid US aid cuts: sources
- Fresh cuts at IOM are expected to impact at least 20 percent
GENEVA: The UN migration agency, which has been hit hard by US foreign aid cuts, has launched more mass layoffs, impacting around a fifth of staff at its Geneva headquarters, employees said Friday.
Fresh cuts at the International Organization for Migration are expected to impact at least 20 percent of the more than 1,000 current headquarters staff, according to several sources familiar with the situation.
US hails ‘historic peace treaty’ between Armenia, Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict
WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday hailed a “historic peace treaty” finalized by Armenia and Azerbaijan and called on both sides to follow through.
“This is an opportunity for both countries to turn the page on a decades old conflict,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Now is the time to commit to peace, sign and ratify the treaty, and usher in a new era of prosperity for the people of the South Caucasus,” he added.
Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
A deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkiye all jostle for influence.
