the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland Archives - TRIAL International https://trialinternational.org/judicial-body/office-of-the-attorney-general-of-switzerland/ A way to justice Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:09:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 11 years after his arrest in Geneva, the procedure against Khaled Nezzar is still ongoing in Switzerland https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/11-years-after-his-arrest-in-geneva-the-procedure-against-khaled-nezzar-is-still-ongoing-in-switzerland/ Thu, 20 Oct 2022 06:36:30 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=24516 Eleven years after his arrest in Geneva, the procedure against Khaled Nezzar is still ongoing in Switzerland. TRIAL International still hopes for an indictment in the near future. On 20 October 2011, the Algerian general Khaled Nezzar was arrested in Geneva following a denunciation filed by TRIAL International and two criminal complaints from victims who […]

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]]> Pillaged rosewood between Senegal and The Gambia: The criminal denunciation filed by TRIAL International leads to the opening of a criminal investigation in Switzerland https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/pillaged-timber-in-senegal-the-gambia-swiss-authorities-have-opened-a-criminal-investigation/ Fri, 17 Jun 2022 22:01:04 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=24166 Pillaged timber between Senegal and The Gambia: The criminal denunciation filed by TRIAL International leads to the opening of a criminal investigation in Switzerland In June 2019, TRIAL International filed a criminal denunciation with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), against Nicolae Bogdan Buzaianu, a Swiss businessman close to former Gambian president […]

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]]> Plundering of Libyan fuel: proceedings opened following TRIAL International’s complaint https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/plundering-of-libyan-fuel-war-crimes-proceedings-opened/ Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:36:54 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=23528 Respect for international humanitarian law must prevail over the quest for profits! According to information gathered by TRIAL International, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has formally opened criminal proceedings for the war crime of pillage in a case concerning the alleged plundering of Libyan fuel. The opening of these proceedings follows […]

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]]> The way is now paved for the trial in Switzerland of General Khaled Nezzar https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/the-way-is-now-paved-for-the-trial-in-switzerland-of-general-khaled-nezzar/ Tue, 08 Feb 2022 18:20:30 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=23213 It is a giant step forward in the fight against impunity. The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has conducted the final hearing of Khaled Nezzar. The OAG holds that numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed while Mr. Nezzar was leading the military junta and serving as Minister of Defense at […]

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]]> Can the illegal exploitation of the Congolese subsoil during the ongoing conflict amount to a war crime? https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/can-the-exploitation-of-the-congolese-subsoil-amount-to-a-war-crime/ Thu, 19 Nov 2020 12:50:25 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=21042 Could a Swiss businessman be liable for pillage – a war crime under international law – by purchasing minerals from a region of the Democratic Republic of Congo controlled by an armed group? The investigation, opened in March 2018 by the Office of the Attorney General, might be able to answer this question. In November 2016, TRIAL […]

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]]> Pillage: Ongoing investigation following the denunciation of a Swiss businessman for war crimes in the DRC https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/pillage-swiss-businessman-under-criminal-investigation-for-war-crimes-in-the-drc/ Thu, 12 Dec 2019 12:49:01 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=19283 TRIAL International and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) welcome the opening of a formal criminal investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, following the filing of their denunciation against Christoph Huber, a Swiss national active in the mining sector. Backed by numerous pieces of first-hand evidence collected during their investigation of […]

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]]> Criminal complaint filed against Deputy Ambassador of Sri Lanka for war crimes https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/criminal-complaint-filed-against-deputy-ambassador-of-sri-lanka-for-war-crimes/ Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:36:28 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=2874 Geneva, Bern, 4 August 2011 The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and TRIAL – Swiss Association against Impunity – filed today a criminal complaint with the Federal Attorney General against the former Major General Jagath Dias for war crimes. Although the STP and TRIAL have invited the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on several […]

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]]> Is Switzerland becoming a safe haven for war criminals? https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/switzerland-too-slow-to-try-international-crimes-says-un/ Tue, 18 Sep 2018 06:53:49 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=13852 A UN report recently made public points the finger at Switzerland. In two criminal cases for war crimes, the Office of the Attorney General is alleged to have succumbed to political pressure. This has resulted in huge delays in proceedings, to the detriment of victims supported by TRIAL International.   Is the Office of the […]

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]]> Newsletter october 2017 https://trialinternational.org/media-post/newsletter-october-2017/ Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:05:49 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=media&p=11966 The post Newsletter october 2017 appeared first on TRIAL International.

]]> Rifaat Al-Assad case https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/rifaat-al-assad-case/ Tue, 03 Oct 2017 11:50:06 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=11960 Rifaat Al-Assad is a career military man and a Syrian politician. He is the younger brother of the former president of Syria Hafez Al-Assad, to which he has largely facilitated the ascension to power in 1970. He is the uncle of the current president Bashar Al-Assad. A member of the highest political circles in the […]

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]]> In Switzerland, proceedings for war crimes against Rifaat Al-Assad https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/in-switzerland-proceedings-for-war-crimes-against-rifaat-al-assad/ Mon, 25 Sep 2017 10:16:50 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=11913 Revelations about TRIAL International’s investigation Geneva 25 September 2017 – A collective of lawyers has revealed today the existence of criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Rifaat Al-Assad for war crimes committed in Syria in the 1980s. TRIAL International confirms it has, after a thorough investigation, denounced the former vice-president to the Swiss judicial authorities. A […]

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]]> Sonko case: voices of the victims https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/sonko-case-voices-of-the-victims/ Tue, 11 Jul 2017 13:00:53 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=11681/ The Attorney General of Switzerland has heard two victims in the investigation against Ousman Sonko. The former Gambian Minister of Interior is suspected of crimes against humanity. It took Destiny (real name withheld) more than ten years to file a complaint against Ousman Sonko. A victim of torture in Gambia, she was finally able to […]

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]]> Detention extended for former Minister Ousman Sonko https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/detention-extended-for-former-minister-ousman-sonko/ Wed, 03 May 2017 10:00:42 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=11272 Geneva, 3 May 2017 – The Court of Measures of Constraint in Bern has decided to prolong the detention of Ousman Sonko. The former Minister of Internal Affairs and right hand of Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh is suspected of crimes against humanity.   Ousman Sonko was arrested in Switzerland on 26 January 2017, after TRIAL International […]

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]]> Nezzar case: Victims appeal case dismissal https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/nezzar-case-victims-appeal-case-dismissal/ Wed, 18 Jan 2017 07:52:46 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=10717 Geneva, 18 January 2017 – The case against Khaled Nezzar was opened by the Office of the Attorney General (MPC) of Switzerland in 2011 for alleged war crimes. Five years later, however, the MPC concluded against all expectations that the alleged acts by the former Minister of Defense could not be considered as war crimes on […]

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]]> Caterpillar SA https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/caterpillar-sa/ Mon, 16 May 2016 11:34:02 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=1116 In March 2011, TRIAL International and the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq supported six Palestinian families with their filing of a complaint of war crimes against the Swiss subsidiary of Caterpillar, the manufacturer of construction site machinery. The reason for doing so was that the Israeli army had used D9 bulldozers made by the same manufacturer to […]

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]]> Argor-Heraeus SA and Hussar Limited https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/argor-heraeus-sa-and-hussar-limited/ Mon, 16 May 2016 11:22:11 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=1099 In partnership with the NGOs Open Society Justice Initiative and Conflict Awareness Project, TRIAL International, filed a report against Argor-Heraeus SA before the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in November 2013. That company was accused of refining nearly three tonnes of gold pillaged by rebels in the north of the Democratic Republic of […]

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]]> Amir Coralic https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/amir-coralic/ Mon, 16 May 2016 10:58:35 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=1098 During the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, Amir Coralic (otherwise known as “Pango”) was a soldier in the pro-independence Bosniak army of Bihac Province – the “National Defense”. In December 1993, Amir Coralic and two other militiamen abducted Marina, a 14-year-old girl, and her cousin Adela, a 15-year-old girl (assumed names), from their […]

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]]> Ali Bin Fadhul Al-buainain https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/ali-bin-fadhul-al-buainain/ Mon, 16 May 2016 10:54:30 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=1097 According to human rights organizations, the Bahraini authorities systematically use torture, and the Bahraini Attorney General’s Office plays a significant role in this repressive system. Those arrested are often subjected to torture and forced to sign false confessions. The annual conference of the International Association of Prosecutors (AIP) was held in Zurich in September 2015. […]

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]]> Swiss decision to close Argor case encourages “head in the sand” attitude https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/swiss-decision-to-close-argor-case-encourages-head-in-the-sand-attitude/ Tue, 02 Jun 2015 15:06:44 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=1831 The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAGS) decided not to further prosecute the Swiss precious metals company Argor-Heraeus SA, that handled dirty African gold. While Swiss authorities acknowledged that Argor did refine looted gold and violated its duty of diligence, the case was nonetheless closed, a decision met with disbelief by the three […]

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]]> Argor case: UK Authorities Called to Act following Swiss Ruling https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/argor-case-uk-authorities-called-to-act-following-swiss-ruling/ Wed, 05 Feb 2014 12:43:33 +0000 https://trialinternational.org/?post_type=latest&p=2147 A key ruling by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court has given momentum to a war crimes case against the Swiss gold refining giant, Argor-Heraeus SA, alleged to have laundered millions of dollars of looted gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The three NGOs behind the Stop Pillage Campaign, the Conflict Awareness Project, Open Society […]

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