A former Australian SAS soldier has been charged with murder, following an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Oliver Schulz, 41, is the first Australian serviceman or veteran to be charged with a war crime under Australian law. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life in jail. He was arrested on Monday in regional New South Wales (NSW), and will face a court on Tuesday. The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says Mr Schulz is the person referred to as Soldier C in a 2020 ABC Four Corners documentary exposing alleged war crimes. Footage showed Soldier C shooting an … Continue reading Australian former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz held over alleged war crime in Afghanistan

South Korea has controversially agreed to pay compensation to its own citizens who were forced to work in Japanese factories during World War Two. Seoul’s proposal aims to resolve a colonial grievance that has long hindered relations between the nations. Officials on both sides hailed the proposal as a breakthrough on Monday. But victims and opponents of the plan in South Korea have criticised the agreement, saying it does not hold Japan accountable. About 150,000 Koreans were forced to work in factories and mines in Japan in the war, due to Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula from 1910-1945. On … Continue reading South Korea to compensate victims of Japan’s wartime forced labour

A former secretary who worked for the commander of a Nazi concentration camp has been convicted of complicity in the murders of more than 10,500 people. Irmgard Furchner, 97, was taken on as a teenaged shorthand typist at Stutthof and worked there from 1943 to 1945. Furchner, the first woman to be tried for Nazi crimes in decades, was given a two-year suspended jail term. Although she was a civilian worker, the judge agreed she was fully aware of what was going on at the camp. Some 65,000 people are thought to have died in horrendous conditions at Stutthof, including … Continue reading Irmgard Furchner, the Nazi typist guilty of complicity in 10,500 murders

A Paris court Wednesday sentenced a former Liberian rebel commander to life in jail over violence against civilians and complicity in crimes against humanity after France’s first trial linked to Liberia’s civil wars. The Paris criminal court found Kunti Kamara guilty of crimes against civilians between 1993 and 1994, including a teacher whose heart he reportedly ate, and not preventing soldiers under his command from repeatedly raping two teenage girls. The 47-year-old defendant betrayed little emotion when the verdict was pronounced. It was set up in 2012 to try suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide detained on French soil, … Continue reading French court sentences Liberian ex-rebel commander to life in prison

A court in Argentina has sentenced 19 former military officers to long prison terms for crimes against humanity during the country’s military dictatorships in 1976-83. The crimes included forced disappearances, murder, torture and kidnapping of children. Among those sentenced was Gen Santiago Riveros, 98, previously convicted for other human rights violations. He received a life sentence after being found guilty of more than 100 crimes. The sentences were handed down by the federal court in the capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday. It ruled that crimes were committed against some 350 victims. Among them were six auto plant workers at the … Continue reading Ex-army officers jailed over crimes against humanity

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will investigate whether crimes against humanity were committed during Venezuela’s crackdown on anti-government protests in 2017. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said the state respects the decision to investigate, but does not share it. More than 100 people died during the clampdown on protesters, the demonstrations started after the Supreme Court decided to dissolve the opposition-dominated National Assembly. The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the move after a three-day trip to Caracas. Both Venezuela’s opposition and its government have urged the ICC to investigate alleged crimes carried out by their opponents. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, … Continue reading ICC to probe Venezuela over alleged crimes against humanity