• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Afghan War Crimes Probe Must Go Ahead, ICC Judges Say

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
03/05/20
in Featured, World
Smoke rises from the site of an attack on Tuesday after a massive explosion the night before near the Green Village in Kabul, Afghanistan

Smoke rises from the site of an attack after a massive explosion the night before near the Green Village in Kabul, September 2019. Photo: Wakil Kohsar, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

International war crimes judges ruled on Thursday that a probe into wartime abuses in Afghanistan must go ahead, including looking into possible atrocities committed by U.S. forces, as they overturned a previous court ruling.

The call was immediately hailed by human rights organizations as a “pivotal moment” for victims of the central Asian country’s 18-year-war since the 2001 U.S. invasion.

But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked the International Criminal Court’s decision as a “reckless” move and “a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution masquerading as a legal body.”

Guissou Jahangiri, deputy president of the International Federation for Human Rights, called the ICC decision “a pivotal moment for victims in Afghanistan and beyond.”

It sends “a much-needed signal to current and would-be perpetrators of atrocities that justice may one day catch up to them,” Human Rights Watch’s Param-Preet Singh added.

Pompeo, speaking at a news conference, said it was “all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan, which is the best chance for peace and a generation.”

Interest of Justice 

Pre-trial judges at the ICC — an independent court set up in 2002 to try the world’s worst crimes — last year rejected a demand by its chief prosecutor to open a full-blown probe into crimes committed in the war-torn nation.

Prosecutors at The Hague appealed the move, saying that the judges made an error when they slapped down Fatou Bensouda‘s request by saying although it met all the right criteria and a reasonable basis, it was “not in the interest of justice.”

The appeals judges agreed with the prosecution.

“The prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003,” ICC judge Piotr Hofmanski said.

“It is for the prosecutor to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation.”

Pre-trial judges are only called upon to see if there is a reasonable basis for an investigation and not to “review the prosecutor’s analysis”, he said.

In fact, the appeals judges said, prosecutors could even look into possible atrocities outside of Afghanistan if they were clearly linked to its armed conflict.

ICC prosecutors previously said their investigation would include alleged war crimes by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operatives at detention facilities, referred to as “black sites” in ICC member countries like Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

At least 24 suspects were subjected to torture at these secret prisons between 2003-2004, the prosecutors said.

In 2006, the ICC’s prosecutors opened a preliminary probe into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the central Asian nation since 2003.

In 2017 Bensouda asked judges to allow a full-blown inquiry, not only into Taliban and Afghan government personnel but also international forces, U.S. troops and CIA members.

But pre-trial judges then said it “would not serve the interests of justice” and that the court should focus on cases with a better chance of success.

Backlash 

Bensouda’s move had unleashed a backlash from Washington, which in April last year revoked the Gambian-born chief prosecutor’s visa as part of broader restrictions on ICC staff probing American or allied personnel.

Former national security advisor John Bolton warned in 2018 that the U.S. would arrest ICC judges if the court pursued an Afghan probe.

The U.S. has never joined the ICC and does not recognize its authority over American citizens. In 2002, the U.S. Congress went as far as passing legislation often refereed to as the “Hague Invasion Act” that authorizes military force to prevent an American from being tried at the ICC.

Washington argues that it has its own procedures in place to deal with U.S. troops who engage in misconduct.

Afghanistan also opposes the inquiry, saying the country itself had “responsibility to bring justice for our nation and for our people.”

The ICC’s ruling comes days after Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a string of overnight attacks, throwing the country’s nascent peace process into grave doubt.

Under the terms of a recent U.S.-Taliban agreement, foreign forces will quit Afghanistan within 14 months, subject to Taliban security guarantees and a pledge by the insurgents to hold talks with Kabul.

A U.S.-led force invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S., targeting Al-Qaeda in the sanctuaries provided by the Taliban government.

Fighting has continued ever since — last year more than 3,400 civilians were killed and almost 7,000 injured, according to data provided by U.N. agencies.


More on the Subject 

ICC Probe Could Hold US Accountable for Torture in Afghanistan

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.
Opinion

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

by Stephen J. Lyons
April 2, 2025
Donald Trump
National

Trump Hails Super Tuesday Wins in Race to the White House

by Staff Writer with AFP
March 6, 2024
People visit the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai
World

China Unveils New Operating System Amid US Tensions

by Staff Writer
July 6, 2023
Palestine war, Gaza
Middle East

Israel Refuses to Work With ICC on War Crimes Probe, Says ‘No Authority’

by Staff Writer
April 8, 2021
President Donald Trump and US Attorney General William Barr step off Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland last September 1, 2020.
National

US Attorney General Says No Evidence of Decisive Election Fraud

by Staff Writer
December 2, 2020
Iraqi soldiers being trained by US forces . Photo: AFP
Featured

NATO to Review Iraq Mission After Parliament Votes to Expel US Forces

by Staff Writer
January 6, 2020
Next Post
Women gender violence Spain

Two Billion Women Won't See Gender Equality by 2030 at Current Pace: Report

A classroom in Lebanon is sprayed with disinfectant amid the coronavirus outbreak on Feb 2 2020. Photo: AFP

Millions Out of School as WHO Calls for Stronger Virus Response

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post