Free Republic

The United Nations Human Rights Council and U.N. member states have been told that they have a “legal obligation” to confront China over its practice of forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong adherents. Addressing the council in Geneva on Sept. 24, London-based lawyer Hamid Sabi presented the findings from a report released in June by the China Tribunal, or the Independent Tribunal Into Forced Organ Harvesting from Prisoners of Conscience in China. The tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who previously led the prosecution of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal, concluded beyond reasonable doubt...

The most striking proof that the Arab anti-Israel cause is a common meeting ground for both Nazis and Communists --and that the Arabs welcomed supporters of both ilks-- lies in the friendship of Carlos, the notorious master terrorist who served the PLO, with Fran*ois Genoud, an old Nazi, one of the leading Nazis in pre-War Switzerland, later a financier who provided funds for Habash's faction of the PLO. "Carlos" (his nom de guerre) was what is called a "red diaper baby." His fabulously rich father, a Venezuelan lawyer and owner of estates, gave "Carlos" the name Ilich, Lenin's patronymic, as...

Who could not despise the tottering Bashar al-Assad dictatorship in Syria? The Syrian strongman has killed some 10,000 protestors over the last year; thousands of Syrians are now refugees. The autocracy arms and aids the terrorist organization Hezbollah. It targets democratic Israel with thousands of missiles, and still does its best to ruin neighboring Lebanon. Theocratic and terrorist-sponsoring Iran has few allies -- but Syria remains its staunchest. Almost no country over the last half-century has proved more hostile to the United States than has Syria. With sanctions not working, and with the Chinese, Iranians and Russians not eager to...

A key witness in a war crimes case against a senior Kosovo figure has been found dead in Germany, the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) said Wednesday. "EULEX confirms that Agim Zogaj, known as witness X in the Klecka case, was found dead in a park in Germany," the mission's statement said. It added that the "German authorities are conducting the necessary investigation to determine the circumstances of his death." According to local media reports, Zogaj had agreed to testify in the case of Fatmir Limaj, one of the most prominent commanders of the ethnic Albanian guerrillas...

Reading "Masters and Commanders," Andrew Roberts's magnificent account of British and American leaders in World War II, I was struck by how many of them, working prodigious hours and under great strain, were struck down by heart attacks while in their 60s. This doesn't happen anymore, I thought, with the blood pressure and cholesterol medicines many of us routinely take. But it does, as we were reminded by the sudden death at age 69 this week of Richard Holbrooke, who was working prodigiously as Barack Obama's special representative for AfPak, i.e., Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke was known in cynical Washington...

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is investigating whether Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, according to sources with direct knowledge of the inquiry. The FBI, which opened an investigation in recent months, has formally referred the matter to the department's Public Integrity Section for additional scrutiny. At issue are Weldon's efforts between 2002 and 2004 to aid two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with ties to strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a federal law enforcement official said. The Russian companies and a Serbian foundation run by the brothers'...

BUDVA, Serbia-Montenegro - Voters are deciding whether to write the final chapter in the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and the T-shirts show vividly how divided they are. Sunday's referendum is about whether tiny Montenegro should end its union with big-brother Serbia, and in the Adriatic resort of Budva, vendor Milan Jakic says his red "da" (yes) shirts are selling well. "If you compare the sale of yes and no," he says, "there is no doubt Montenegro will be independent." But six miles away in the quiet fishing village of Bigovo, the "ne" (no) shirt is doing well, and graffiti...

When it comes to charities suspected of terrorist involvement, at what point can a series of independent actions be said to indicate coordinated and malevolent intent? And if they do in fact indicate such intent, what should be done about it? These are the questions that Thomas Gambill, a former security officer with the OSCE, had to wrestle with during his time in Kosovo, in regards to several Islamic NGOs and charities whose stated activities seemed benign, but whose latent motives were more suspicious. According to Gambill, whose whistleblower testimony first came out on Antiwar.com in August, the verdict is...

The phony peaceniks who protested in Washington Saturday's demonstration in Washington, in favor of immediate withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq, was the product of an opportunistic alliance between two other very disparate "coalitions." Here is how the New York Times (after a front-page and an inside headline, one of them reading "Speaking Up Against War" and one of them reading "Antiwar Rallies Staged in Washington and Other Cities") described the two constituenciess of the event: The protests were largely sponsored by two groups, the Answer Coalition, which embodies a wide range of progressive political objectives, and United for Peace...

Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General and Co-Chairman of the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic (ICDSM) has made this afternoon the following statement: Under International Law, every person accused of a crime has the right to represent himself in person in the court adjudicating his case. Slobodan Milosevic is no exception. The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia has destroyed its last claim to legality by attempting to deprive the former President of Yugoslavia of this fundamental human right. The appearance of President Milosevic representing himself alone during the prosecution case for over 2 years,...

Cheerleaders for TerrorismBy Erick StakelbeckFrontPageMagazine.com | June 17, 2003 Two groups whom Islamic terrorists can count on for sympathy and support are radical lawyers and their counterparts in American law schools. Lynne Stewart is a hero of the National Lawyers Guild and a sought-after campus lecturer. While out on bail under indictment for colluding with a terrorist leader, she has been a sought-after speaker for law school audiences who relish her attacks on Attorney General John Ashcroft as a modern-day fascist and on her country for its imperialist and racist policies. Stewart made national headlines in April 2002 when she...

The marathon trial of former president of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic has reached its second anniversary in February 2004, with Serbs continuing to take the brunt of the sentences meted out by the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. It is ironic then that ethnic Albanian members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) - trained and encouraged in the past by the West - have been free to sell Semtex explosives to undercover journalists from Britain. In late 2003, the journalists posed as Irish terrorists determined to blow up British targets with their booty. Furthermore, one of the KLA men...

     To ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Bill Clinton makes a valuable “character witness.” On Sunday’s This Week, Stephanopoulos described the “crowning moment” for Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, during his testimony last week at the war crimes trial in The Hague for Slobodan Milosevic, as when the former General called “on a big gun as a character witness” -- Bill Clinton.      Meanwhile, a Washington Post profile of the two top Howard Dean campaign strategists relayed how Dean’s Communications Director Tricia Enright became “friendly” with Stephanopoulos when the two worked together in the Clinton White House.      Stephanopoulos traveled to the...

Milosevic prosecution enters critical stage THE HAGUE AP Thursday, July 17, 2003 With time running out, the chief UN war crimes prosecutor said Wednesday that she had yet to prove her case of genocide against Slobodan Milosevic and that the next few months would be critical. The prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said in an interview that crucial evidence would soon be presented to the tribunal regarding the former Yugoslav president's involvement with the massacre in Srebrenica and the bombardment of Sarajevo. She said that she was confident it would lead to convictions for genocide - the most serious of the...

Bloody Christmas Eve 6 January 2003 PRAGUE, Czech Republic--Christmas celebrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina were darkened when a Bosnian Croat man and his two daughters were brutally murdered in their home in the village of Kostajnica in northern Herzegovina.On 26 December, police arrested a 25-year-old Bosnian Muslim man, Muamer Topalovic, for the murders, though no charges have yet been made and police are unsure of the suspect’s motives. The suspect’s father, however, has attested to his son’s nationalist sentiments and religious fanaticism.According to police, Topalovic arrived at the home of Andjeljko Andjelic around 10 p.m. on 24 December and opened...

Saturday June 1, 12:00 AM Prosecution asks for more time in Milosevic trial The prosecution in the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic asked the UN court for more time to present its case against the former Yugoslav president. "We would require another two months", prosecutor Geoffrey Nice told the judges. Legal wrangling over time constraints and sharp exchanges between the prosecution and the trial chamber marked Friday's hearing. Last week, presiding Judge Richard May told Nice he wanted the prosecution's case for Kosovo wrapped up by July 26th. Milosevic is charged with more than 60 counts of genocide, war...

Thursday May 30, 10:58 PM Survivor of Racak massacre testifies in Milosevic trial The trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic heard testimony from a survivor of the Racak massacre in Kosovo which triggered NATO's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia. Avdiu Bilal, a slight man in his fifties wearing a traditional Albanian black skullcap, has lived in Racak all his life and was in the town on January 15th, 1999 when over 40 ethnic Albanian civilians were allegedly massacred by Belgrade's forces. His testimony was presented as a short prosecution summary before he was cross-examined by Milosevic, who is defending...

Milosevic Tries to Cast Doubt on Massacre Reports Wed May 22,12:52 PM ET By Katie Nguyen THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) on Wednesday tried to rebut allegations that Serb forces carried out mass killings during the Kosovo conflict. The former Yugoslav president doggedly cross-examined the first forensic expert to take the stand at his war crimes trial. At least 158 bodies were found in 11 sites across the disputed province, most of whom had been shot, said Eric Baccard, chief forensic pathologist in Kosovo for the United Nations (news - web sites) war crimes tribunal....

Thursday April 18, 1:29 AM Del Ponte rejects time-limit on Milosevic prosecution The chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal that is trying former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic said she hoped to appeal a decision by the court judges to curtail the time allotted to the prosecution to make its case. Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said the judges' ruling that the prosecution, which is making the complex case against Milosevic on no less than 66 charges, had to wind up its case by April 10 next year would cause an "incurable prejudice" to the trial. "It is apparent that if...

Milosevic Flu Further Delays Trial Wed Mar 20,11:00 AM ET BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites)'s legal adviser said Wednesday that the former Yugoslav president's influenza is getting worse, making it unlikely his trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal would continue this week. "His health is getting worse; he can hardly talk," said lawyer Dragoljub Ognjanovic. The proceedings at the Netherlands-based court were delayed Monday after Milosevic caught the flu. He was seen by a doctor, and the tribunal's press office said a follow-up appointment would take place Wednesday. The court was initially to reconvene...