THE HAGUE, Netherlands: International Criminal Court (ICC) judges decided Friday to ask the United Nations Secretary-General for information on who represents Afghanistan at international bodies following the Taliban’s sweep to power in August.
The request is intended to clarify the status of Afghanistan’s new leadership as judges prepare to rule on a request by the global court’s new prosecutor last month for permission to resume an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Afghanistan’s conflict since 2002.
In a written ruling, judges said that “for several reasons including the fast pace of relevant developments, and the short time elapsed since they materialized, there is still a large margin of uncertainty as to the legal implications of those events, including for the purposes of international law and international relations.”
The judges also asked the court’s Assembly of States Parties for the same clarification. Afghanistan is a member, or state party, of the court.
In a statement, the court said that the judges also reminded Prosecutor Karim Khan that he can request authorization to “pursue necessary investigative steps for the purpose of preserving evidence where there is a unique opportunity to obtain important evidence or there is a significant risk that such evidence may not be subsequently available.”
Judges authorized an investigation in March last year covering offenses allegedly committed by Afghan government forces, the Taliban, American troops and US foreign intelligence operatives dating back to 2002. The probe was put on the back burner when Afghanistan’s government asked to take over the case. The ICC is a court of last resort, set up in 2002 to prosecute alleged atrocities in countries that cannot or will not bring perpetrators to justice — known as the principle of complementarity.
Khan said last month that he plans to focus on crimes committed by the Taliban and the Afghan affiliate of the Daesh group, adding that he will “deprioritize” other aspects of the investigation — including alleged crimes by Americans. That led to angry reactions from rights groups.
ICC judges seek UN clarification on Afghanistan rulers
https://arab.news/cpgrm
ICC judges seek UN clarification on Afghanistan rulers
- The request is intended to clarify the status of Afghanistan's new leadership
- Judges prepare to rule on a request by ICC’s new prosecutor for permission to resume an investigation into crimes against humanity linked to Afghanistan's conflict since 2002
Finland warns end of Ukraine war could bring more Russian spying
- SUPO said that while the Ukraine conflict would probably continue for the “foreseeable future,” its end would free up Russian resources
- “Russian intelligence capacity in Europe has suffered due to the war”
HELSINKI: Finland’s intelligence agency warned Tuesday that Russian spies could boost their efforts to target and destabilize the new NATO member once the Ukraine war ends.
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) said that while the Ukraine conflict, triggered by Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, would probably continue for the “forseeable future,” its end would free up Russian resources.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in April 2023 in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, enraging the Kremlin.
“Russian intelligence capacity in Europe has suffered due to the war, and Russia is preparing to restore this capacity,” SUPO said in a statement.
“Russian intelligence and influencing resources currently tied to Ukraine will become available to be used elsewhere after the war.”
SUPO said Finland would remain of interest to Russia as “a NATO country between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic region.”
If relations between Europe and Russia improve, “the intelligence threat posed by Russia to Finland will become more diverse, with previous operating methods complemented by methods proven effective in the current environment,” Juha Martelius, Director of SUPO, said.
“These include the extensive utilization of proxy actors and intelligence gathering from bases on Russian soil,” he added.
Finland has in the past accused Moscow of “hybrid warfare” in orchestrating a surge of migrants at their shared border — a charge the Kremlin denied.
Last year, western officials accused Russian vessels of sabotaging undersea communications and power cables in several high-profile incidents in the Baltic Sea in recent months.
But SUPO warned about attributing too many incidents to Russia.
“As various events are readily attributed to Russia, Russian influencing against Finland may appear more extensive than it truly is,” it said.
