The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday that she had a “reasonable basis to believe” that U.S. soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan, including torture.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday that she had a “reasonable basis to believe” that U.S. soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan, including torture.
The international prosecutor has been considering whether to begin a full-fledged investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan for years. In Monday’s announcement, the prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, signaled that a full investigation was likely.
Still, the prosecutor did not announce a final decision on an investigation, which would have to be approved by judges, and it is unlikely that the United States will cooperate.
The U.S. is not a party to the court, which was established to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But Afghanistan is a member of the court, so allegations of crimes committed in its territory, no matter the nationality of the perpetrators, are widely considered to be fair game.
The international court is under great pressure to show that it is unbiased in its targets for investigation. Almost all of its full-fledged investigations have focused on Africa, and in recent weeks three African nations — South Africa, Gambia and Burundi — have announced their intention to withdraw from the court.
Bensouda, in an annual report published Monday, said there was a “reasonable basis” for her to open investigations into “war crimes of torture and related ill-treatment, by U.S. military forces deployed to Afghanistan and in secret detention facilities operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.” The focus, she said, would be mostly on any crimes that occurred in 2003 and 2004.
David Bosco, an Indiana University professor who follows the court, said he was struck by references in the report that signaled an interest to broaden Bensouda’s inquiry into prisoner abuse in secret detention facilities in other countries that belong to the court, including Poland and Romania.
The report also said she had found evidence of “torture and related ill treatment by Afghan government forces,” particularly by its intelligence agency and the police. War crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban and its affiliated networks would also be a target of investigation, the report said.
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