Andijan Trial in Germany?
“ Survivors of torture and the May 13 massacre of unarmed protesters in Andijan, Uzbekistan, filed a case on Monday in Germany calling for the prosecution of Zokirjon Almatov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Internal Affairs, for crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said today. Almatov is in Germany receiving medical treatment.”
(background.)
This probably puts the seal on the division between Uzbekistan and the West, if it wasn’t already evident before. Of course, numerous legal hurdles need to be jumped before, I suspect, Almatov appears in a court. Nevertheless, this may ultimately be a roundabout-route of conducting an international inquiry into the events of 13th May.
on December 19th, 2005 at 8:21 pm
Seems like german bureaucrazy reacted too slow. “SpiegelOnline” got to know and reports today that “Sakir Almatow is no longer treated in the International Neuroscience Institute in Hannover”
Lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck (who filed the case for HRW) said “Almatov is no longer on german territory”.
(Source: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,391258,00.html)
There is a small chance that nevertheless international prosecution will be started, in this case the world would indeed get smaller for Mr. Almatov.