Survivors of military abuses in Myanmar have lodged a criminal complaint in Germany, asking prosecutors to investigate and bring to trial those responsible for committing atrocities during crackdowns on opponents of the February 2021 coup, and against the Rohingya minority.
Matthew Smith, CEO and co-founder of Fortify Rights, said the complaint was lodged in Germany because of its universal jurisdiction laws, which allows for the prosecution of certain grave crimes no matter where they take place. Fortify Rights said it was forced to seek German help because of the UN Security Council’s refusal to refer the Myanmar military to the International Criminal Court.
“This complaint provides new evidence proving that the Myanmar military systematically killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, disappeared, persecuted, and committed other acts that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in violation of German law,” Smith said.
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