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W. G. was a senior officer of the Afghan army and belonged to both the Presidential Guard and the Kabul Garrison (KHAD – the security and intelligence agency). In his 15 years of service, he particularly fought the Mujahideen and was involved in the arrest of prisoners of war. Several NGOs accused KHAD of systematically using torture. On June 16, 2005, the Swiss A...

Among other positions, Mr M. G., of Somalian nationality, was the President of the Somali High Court from 1971 until the demise of Siad Barré’s government on January 26, 1991. During his mandate, several death sentences were imposed and political opponents were severely repressed. For example, a Minister, a senior official and 11 demonstrators who had organized strik...

Suspect X. After his involvement in the coup d’état on January 12, 1992, X., of Algerian nationality, held important positions in the Algerian government until 1994. In that period, people suspected of being Islamist supporters or activists were the victims of violent repression (torture, enforced disappearance, etc.). On November 10, 2004, TRIAL filed a report of...

General Habib Ammar was Commander of the Tunisian National Guard from 1984 to 1987. Following the coup d’état in 1987, he was promoted to Minister of the Interior, a post which he held for a year. During his mandate, the Ministry’s offices were transformed into centers of detention and torture. According to numerous human rights organizations, General Habib Ammar...

During his presidential mandate in the United States, George W. Bush authorized the CIA, in a directive dated September 17, 2001, to abduct suspected terrorists and hold them in secret detention centers, mainly in Guantanamo Bay, but also in Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland and Rumania. At these centers, Mr Bush authorized the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”,...

While Erwin Sperisen was Chief of the National Civil Police (PNC) in Guatemala, numerous crimes were committed by the security forces. In October 2005, after a number of inmates had escaped from Infiernito prison, Mr Sperisen and his colleagues implemented the “Plan Gavilán”, the aim of which was to track down and execute the escapees and then to cover up the crime. T...

After several missions in Colombia, and in conjunction with the Colombian NGO Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos, TRIAL International managed to trace a former member of a Colombian paramilitary group called United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), who may have been involved in the execution of numerous students and lecturers at the Univers...

Bouguerra Soltani held several ministerial positions in the Algerian government from 1998 to 2009. He is suspected of having ordered, authorized and incited public officials to commit acts of torture. When Mr Soltani was invited to come to Switzerland as a speaker in October 2009, TRIAL International filed a criminal report against him, immediately followed by a c...