Germany top court rules foreign soldiers not immune from war crimes charges News
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Germany top court rules foreign soldiers not immune from war crimes charges

The German Federal Court of Justice, der Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), ruled Thursday that war crimes committed abroad can be tried in the German courts.

The decision comes from a case involving an officer in the Afghan army who was accused of coercion, mistreatment of three captured Taliban fighters, and desecrating the body of a Taliban commander who had been “hung on a protective wall … like a trophy and degraded.” The Afghan officer was given a suspended sentence of two years imprisonment by the Munich Higher Regional Court for these crimes and, upon an appeal that cited immunity of a foreign state official, the BGH ruled that the court could rule on acts “committed by a defendant in the exercise of foreign sovereign activity” when the defendant is indicted on charges that constitute war crimes. The BGH remanded the Higher Regional Court’s decision on the basis that the defendant should also be held liable for the war crime of torture, and tasked the Higher Regional Court with sentencing the Afghan officer accordingly.

German courts have recognized universal jurisdiction over some of the most serious crimes under international law. Although this is not the first war crimes case to be heard in a German court, this ruling nullifies the immunity that a foreign official could receive in the German court system if they are prosecuted for violations of the International Criminal Code.

Thursday’s decision could have far-reaching consequences for other war crimes trials, including a case currently being tried in Koblenz involving Syrian secret police who were charged with crimes against humanity.

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