Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Former Algerian Minister of Defence Indicted in Switzerland on War Crime Charges

THE GUARDIAN: Khaled Nezzar is to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1991-2002 Algerian civil war

Khaled Nezzar (pictured here in 2016), a former minister of defence in Algeria, is to stand trial in Switzerland. Photograph: Nacerdine Zebar/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Victims of the 1991-2002 Algerian civil war have been given hope that they will finally receive justice after the highly unusual announcement by Swiss authorities that a former Algerian minister of defence is to stand trial in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Khaled Nezzar is set to be the highest-ranking military official ever tried for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to investigate and prosecute people suspected of having committed international crimes regardless of where they were committed, their nationality, or the nationality of the victims.

Switzerland’s office of the attorney general (OAG) filed an indictment in the federal criminal court against Nezzar on Monday. » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, August 29, 2023