The International Criminal Court announced today that a trial that has been going on since 2021 is finally over. Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona were each convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, arising from the Situation in the Central African Republic. They were sentenced to 15 and 12 years’ incarceration, respectively. While there will undoubtedly be appeals, it is good to see the Court actually landing some convictions, as its 23 years of operation have been marked by mixed results. I hasten to add that an acquittal is not a bad result, because it demonstrates that the Court takes criminal law seriously; but followers of the Court will understand that there have been a number of growing pains since its inception in 2002.
It was also reported recently that Germany has arrested Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, wanted on an ICC warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from his allegedly notorious time as an official at the Mitiga prison near Tripoli. He will be surrendered to the ICC. This is a textbook example of how cooperation between the Court and states is supposed to work.
I make the latter statement because, in reading about the El Hishri arrest, I learned that Italy arrested another Libyan suspect from the Mitiga prison, Osama Najim, back in January — but released him two days later, vaguely citing “procedural irregularities” in his arrest. The Foreign Minister, bizarrely, cited Italian sovereignty as….some kind of excuse? It’s difficult to tell. Italian experts have expressed the obvious opinion that the government’s explanations are specious, and the investigation into allegations that money changed hands in order to facilitate Najim’s release puts a black eye on Italy’s record as a supporter of international criminal justice.