Fatou Bensouda - The African Mirror

Mar

2022

UN rights forum picks ex-ICC prosecutor to lead Ethiopia abuses investigation

THE U.N. Human Rights Council has picked the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to lead a panel investigating violations of human rights in the conflict in northern Ethiopia, the council said. Ethiopian federal troops went to war with rebellious Tigrayan forces in November 2020. Since the war erupted, Reuters has reported atrocities by all sides, which the parties to the fighting have denied. The council voted in December to establish an independent investigative commission, to look into alleged violations by all sides and to identify perpetrators with a view to accountability. Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian national who…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. lifts Trump’s sanctions on ICC prosecutor, court official

NEWS

DAVID BRUNNSTROM and DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS THE United States on Friday lifted sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that drew international criticism after they were imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump. The move, announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, lifts sanctions imposed on Bensouda over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. It also removes Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC's Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, from the Specially Designated Nationals list. In a statement, Blinken said the State Department had also terminated a separate 2019 policy on visa restrictions…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

International Criminal Court rules it has jurisdiction over Palestinian Territories

WORLD

THE International Criminal Court has ruled that it has jurisdiction over war crimes or atrocities committed in the Palestinian Territories, paving the way for a criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections. Judges said their decision was based on jurisdictional rules in the Hague-based court's founding documents and does not imply any attempt to determine statehood or legal borders. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has rejected its jurisdiction. The court's prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in December 2019 there was "a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Process to elect ICC war crimes prosecutor stalls amid U.S. sanctions

WORLD

STEPHANIE VAN DER BERG WASHINGTON’S decision to impose financial sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is overshadowing the search for her successor, with countries deadlocked over a post that has new visibility as the target of American anger. The court's 123 member countries are due to meet in New York on December 7, when they are meant to pick a successor for Fatou Bensouda, the court's Gambian chief prosecutor whose term expires in June. A shortlist of four candidates has been drawn up for the nine-year term, narrowed down from a list of 14 by a…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s premier backs demands for justice as ICC prosecutor visits

NEWS

SUDANESE Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok says his government was committed to achieving justice as an International Criminal Court (ICC) delegation visited for the first time since the overthrow of ex-leader Omar al-Bashir. The ICC issued arrest warrants against Bashir in 2009 and 2010 on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during his campaign to crush a revolt in Darfur in which an estimated 300,000 people died. Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda The delegation, led by Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, arrived in Sudan late on Saturday to discuss the cases of Bashir and two other former officials wanted by…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

EU wants ban on Gambian-born ICC prosecutor must be reversed

NEWS

THE European Union's top diplomat has called on Washington to reverse its sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and another member of the ICC, calling the measures "unacceptable and unprecedented". The United States has blacklisted Bensouda over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan, under sanctions authorised by President Donald Trump in June that allow for asset freezes and travel bans. Sanctions were also imposed on Phakiso Mochochoko, the head of the Hague-based ICC Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division. Phakiso Mochochoko "The sanctions ... are unacceptable and unprecedented measures that attempt to obstruct the…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. blacklists Gambian-born ICC prosecutor over Afghanistan war crimes probe

NEWS

DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS and MICHELLE NICHOLS THE United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Pompeo also said Phakiso Mochochoko, the head of the ICC's Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, had also been blacklisted under sanctions authorized by President Donald Trump in June that allow for asset freezes and travel bans. "Today we take the next step, because the ICC continues to target Americans, sadly," Pompeo told reporters. Pompeo also said that individuals and entities that continue to materially…