International justice news

All Justice Info articles since 2015

All articles published on Justice Info (original and republications) are displayed on this page in chronological order. Only our Hirondelle News archives and the AFP news feed (except for dispatches edited by us) are excluded from this list.

Lafarge trial in France over crimes committed in Syria: the two executives, Bruno Lafont and Christian Herrault, have been found guilty. Photo: Bruno Lafont in court on the day of the verdict.
Tough verdict against cement group Lafarge
14 April 2026 by Chloé Dubois
In a landmark ruling on corporate liability, a French court on April 13 found cement giant Lafarge guilty of financing terrorism in Syria.
In Syria, the National Defence Forces (NDF) are a militia accused of committing crimes such as torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances. Photo: NDF members hanging a portrait of Bashar al-Assad on the wall of a building. Syria: sexual violence in detention on trial in the Netherlands
13 April 2026 by Margherita Capacci
A new Syrian trial began on Wednesday 8 April in The Hague. Rafiq al Q. is the most senior alleged official with close ties to Bashar al-Assad’s regime to be tried in the Netherlands, on charges of sexual violence classified as a crime against humanity.
Former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont leaving the courtroom at the opening of the trial of the French cement group Lafarge and eight individuals, including former executives, accused of financing terrorism in Syria, at the Paris court. Lafarge trial: A step beyond Nuremberg? 
10 April 2026 by Sharon Weill
The verdict is expected on Monday 13 April in the Lafarge trial, in which the French cement manufacturer, as a legal entity, is accused of having financed terrorist organisations in Syria, along with eight of its former executives.
Aleppo courthouse, with people entering the building during the first hearing of the trial on the March 2025 violence on the Syrian coast, photographed in November 2025. Aleppo trial: a test for the future of justice in Syria
9 April 2026 by Bushra Alzoubi
In Aleppo, the trial related to violence that rocked the Syrian coast in the spring of 2025 continues, amid a mix of impatience, international pressure and procedural caution – in particular when it comes to affiliates of the new regime.
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People searching a trench suspected of having been used as a mass grave, on the outskirts of Damascus, on December 16, 2024, looking for human remains.
7 April 2026 by Karam Amer
Syria: a Commission for the Missing “still at the experimental stage” Syria’s National Commission for the Forcibly Disappeared was created in May 2025. Almost a year later, it’s facing all sorts of challenges and is already struggling to maintain both public trust and clear governmental support.
Environmental protest in Belgium for the recognition of ecocide as an international crime. Photo : Brazilian indigenous and other militants hold signs readind
2 April 2026 by Asymmetrical Haircuts
Ecocide: Waiting for the ICC The activists who lobbied to have ecocide included in the Rome Statute will have to rely on ICC’s provisions that categorize environmental crimes as war crimes or crimes against humanity. This is what explains, in this new podcast, Colombian lawyer Laura Baron-Mendoza who has contributed to a recent ICC’s policy paper on the matter.
Lundin trial in Sweden over war crimes committed in South Sudan. Photo: Ian Lundin and Alexandre Schneiter, the two co-defendants, are seen from behind as they climb the steps of the courthouse.
2 April 2026 by Martin Schibbye
Prison sentences sought for the two Lundin executives According to the prosecution’s conclusions, Lundin Oil’s operations in Sudan were not merely conducted in a conflict. They were intertwined with it. And Ian Lundin and Alexandre Schneiter should be sentenced to prison for complicity in war crimes.
Reparations in Syria: following Bashar al-Assad’s departure, victims of the regime are returning home and, faced with its crimes, are considering seeking reparations. Photo: a woman stands on the balcony of her destroyed flat.
31 March 2026 by Sherizaan Minwalla + Zoe Paris + Mustafa Haid
Syria: learning from Iraq’s reparations experience More than a year after Bashar al-Assad’s fall, a central question remains: what will convince Syrians that the new state is not just the same old machinery in a different form?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is launching a thorough investigation in Belarus into alleged crimes against humanity committed against political opponents (deportations). Photo: two protesters are handcuffed, with their hands behind their backs and their backs bent, and are being led away by Belarusian police.
30 March 2026 by Janet H. Anderson
ICC: What’s in the Belarus investigation Those who have lobbied for accountability for the regime of Alexander Lukashenko and his political crackdown in 2020 are cheered: the International Criminal Court has opened a full investigation. But the court’s legal and political space is tight.
In South Africa, following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on crimes committed during apartheid, investigations by the national police were stalled and hampered for years. A commission is attempting to get to the bottom of the matter, though not without difficulty. Photo: Sisi Khampepe during a hearing of the commission, of which she is the chair.
27 March 2026 by Kylie Thomas
Justice Suspended in South Africa A commission of inquiry into an alleged political scandal about post-apartheid accountability began its hearings on February 11. So far, the process has been marred by the failure of political leaders and the police to comply, scholar Kylie Thomas warns.
In South Sudan, a civil war is on the verge of engulfing the country as transitional justice processes stall. Photo: a group of soldiers in mismatched uniforms (only a few of whom are armed) from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army marching in unsuitable footwear.
26 March 2026 by Julia Crawford
South Sudan: war without justice South Sudan’s political and military leaders are driving the country towards a full-scale civil war and mass atrocity crimes, warn UN experts. And long-awaited transitional justice mechanisms are stalled.
Jorge Eduardo Gechem, who was kidnapped by the FARC, was released six years later. Image (video still): footage from a Venezuelan TV channel showing Gechem upon his release in the Colombian jungle.
24 March 2026 by Andrés Bermúdez Liévano
A tale of one crime and two different justice systems The case of former congressman Géchem Turbay helps understand the differences and complementarity between a kidnapping tried in Colombia’s ordinary courts and within the transitional justice system.
Beti Hohler, juge à la Cour pénale internationale (CPI), subit les sanctions imposées par le gouvernement américain.
23 March 2026 by Janet H. Anderson
“Living with US sanctions means living in constant uncertainty” A total of 11 judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the US government. Some have come public about how it's deeply affected their daily life. And it’s unclear what protection they may enjoy.
Syrian Yazidis march carrying photos and banners during a demonstration in Syria.
20 March 2026 by AFP
Life sentence for a French jihadist After a five-day trial, the Paris Assize Court found Sabri Essid, a member of the Islamic State, guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and complicity in crimes against the Yazidis.
The US sanctions against the ICC and Palestinian NGOs have the effect of isolating the latter, as many organisations and businesses, both in Palestine and elsewhere, are reluctant to work with them.
20 March 2026 by Margherita Capacci
“We are like outcasts” In September 2025, three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations were put on the sanctions list by the U.S. administration for their relationship with the International Criminal Court. They tell us about the additional hardship.
Donald Trump is hosting a dinner at the White House to which American tech leaders have been invited (including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates), with First Lady Melania Trump in attendance.
19 March 2026 by Tjitske Lingsma
How sanctions can weaponize US tech against the ICC The International Criminal Court depends significantly on American IT companies for its daily functions and operations. The sanctions against its staff serve as a strong wake-up call that such measures can weaponize US tech against the Court.
Special report: ‘Life under sanctions’ (imposed by the US) for staff at the International Criminal Court and NGOs working with the ICC. Illustration: a colourful drawing showing a judge swimming underwater, surrounded by jellyfish. Papers bearing the ICC logo are also submerged.
17 March 2026 by Justice Info
Life under sanctions In 2025, Donald Trump's administration activated the powerful weapon of sanctions against prosecutors and judges of the International Criminal Court. What consequences for the Court and for those targeted?
Richard Rogers, a human rights lawyer, answers questions from Thierry Cruvellier (Justice Info) regarding the sanctions imposed by the US government on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and various NGOs. Illustration: portrait of Richard Rogers (watercolour).
17 March 2026 by Thierry Cruvellier
“What has changed is who the U.S. consider to be friends or foe” The ultimate weapon that appears to threaten the very existence of the International Criminal Court is the sanctions imposed by the U.S. government. How does it work exactly? International lawyer Richard Rogers explains in our special report.
Genocide of the Yazidis in Syria: a trial begins in France. Photo: a Yazidi woman sits, staring into space.
13 March 2026 by Chloé Dubois
The genocide of Yazidis on trial before French court On March 16, the trial of French jihadist Sabri Essid is set to open before the Paris Assize Court. Although presumed dead, he is being prosecuted for genocide and crimes against humanity targeting the Yazidi population. This is a first in France.