When
- arrested
in Geneva on Thursday morning, 20 October 2011
The
arrestee - the former
Algerian General and Minister of Defence Khaled Nezzar
Charges - war
crimes committed during the Algerian civil war, under Swiss law that authorizes
the prosecution of international humanitarian law violations, namely violations
of the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, as soon as the suspect
is on Swiss territory
Numerous
Human Rights Organisations accuse him of having ordered, authorised and incited
the military and public function agents to exercise acts of tortures, to commit
murders, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other acts constituting
grave violations of international humanitarian law.
The Swiss
law (apparently granting universal jurisdiction over IHL violations) - In the
past, a Rwandan national was sentenced to fourteen years of prison for his
participation in the genocide committed in Rwanda in 1994
=== ==== ==== === ====
The
Arab Spring arrives in Switzerland: a former Algerian General arrested on war
crimes charges
Geneva,
21 October 2011
Accused
of war crimes committed during the Algerian civil war, the former Algerian
General and Minister of Defence Khaled Nezzar was arrested in Geneva on
Thursday morning, 20 October 2011. He was interrogated by the Public Prosecutor
of the Swiss Confederation (Public Prosecutor) until 18h30 on Friday 21
October, and was later released on the basis of his promise to be present
during the subsequent procedure. Earlier in the week, the Public Prosecutor
opened an investigation following a denunciation by TRIAL, the Swiss
Association against Impunity.
Mr.
Khaled Nezzar was born on the 27th December 1937. He held various positions in
the Algerian army. Named Chief of Land Forces in 1986, he was promoted to Chief
of Staff and then Minister of Defence in 1990. In this position, he became the
man of all decisions within the government. From 1992 until 1994, he was one of
the five members of the High Council of State (HCS), the military junta of five
members that replaced the President elect. Mr. Nezzar was considered as one of
the most powerful men of the regime in the beginning of the 1990s, whilst the
“dirty war” was raging.
Numerous
Human Rights Organisations accuse him of having ordered, authorised and incited
the military and public function agents to exercise acts of tortures, to commit
murders, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other acts constituting
grave violations of international humanitarian law.
Swiss
law authorises the prosecution of international humanitarian law violations,
namely violations of the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, as
soon as the suspect is on Swiss territory. In the past, a Rwandan national was
sentenced to fourteen years of prison for his participation in the genocide
committed in Rwanda in 1994.
TRIAL,
an organisation specialised in fighting against the impunity of authors of
grave violations of human rights, welcomed Mister Nezzar’s arrest and the
charges of war crimes against him. According to its Director, Philip Grant,
“the Arab Spring has arrived in Switzerland. The demand for justice, which has
not yet found expression in Algeria, must now be realised in Switzerland.” The
organisation however regrets that Mr. Nezzar was not taken into custody, the
risk of flight being too important. “Not enough consideration has been given to
the immense suffering of thousands of Algerian victims of the security
apparatus under Mr. Nezzar’s orders”.
The
criminal proceedings will nevertheless continue in Switzerland.
