Switzerland indicts Algerian ex-minister for alleged crimes against humanity during 1990s insurgency

Source: Associated Press

Switzerland indicts Algerian ex-minister for alleged crimes against humanity during 1990s insurgency

BY JAMEY KEATEN
Updated 12:26 PM EDT, August 29, 2023

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss federal prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted a former Algerian defense minister, now aged 85 and reportedly “on his deathbed,” for his alleged role in crimes against humanity during the bloody insurrection in the North African country in the 1990s.

The Swiss attorney general’s office accuses former Gen. Khaled Nezzar of violating the laws of armed conflict under the Geneva Conventions, alleging that he knew of or willingly condoned, coordinated and encouraged activities such as torture, extra-judicial executions, arbitrary detention and physical assaults between 1992 and 1994.

Nezzar’s lawyers said he contested the claims, and said he spoke out against torture in particular as early as the 1990s.

“The case file doesn’t make it possible to establish either that Gen. Khaled Nezzar ordered or gave assistance to abuses held against him, or even that he was informed about them or refrained from acting to prevent them,” Caroline Schumacher and Magali Buser said in a statement.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/khaled-nezzar-algeria-military-switzerland-universal-jurisdiction-636977efd5f4100a1479a04207149d83