Rights group files criminal complaint in Germany against Myanmar military for alleged war crimes, genocide

A human rights group and 16 individuals from Myanmar have filed a criminal complaint against Myanmar’s military in Germany, accusing them of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The lawsuit against Myanmar military generals and others was filed last week, said the advocacy group, Fortify Rights, in a statement, on Tuesday (January 24). The crimes in question were allegedly perpetrated by the country’s military after they overthrew the elected government, in 2021, following a coupamid a crackdown on people from the Rohingya community.

The 16 individual complaints from six women and ten men who are residing in different parts of the world belong to various ethnic groups in Myanmar including Rohingya, the dominant Burman, Chin, Karen, Karenni, and Arakanese communities. The complainants are also students, farmers, businesspeople, former village heads and homemakers who have either witnessed or survived crimes in Myanmar and have since fled the country.

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“An ethnically diverse and united front of survivors from throughout Myanmar are bringing this case to seek justice and accountability,” said Matthew Smith, CEO and co-founder at Fortify Rights, in a statement.

The 215-page criminal complaint and more than 1,000 pages of annexes were filed with the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany, last week, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, said the rights group which is also leading the legal case.

Notably, the legal principle enables a state to prosecute individuals responsible for mass atrocities regardless of where the crimes occurred or the nationality of their perpetrators and victims. Furthermore, the lawsuit is based on more than 1,000 interviews which were conducted by various rights groups since 2013 as well as leaked documents from the Myanmar army.

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The complaint alleges 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 the German Code of Crimes Against International Law,” said the Fortify Rights.

“We trust in Germany to open an investigation and seek justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by the military and its leaders in Myanmar,” said Nickey Diamond, a member rights group who also experienced and witnessed crimes allegedly committed by the Myanmar military in 2021.

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Notably, the Myanmar generals are already facing an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a genocide case before the International Court of Justice. The Fortify Rights-led lawsuit was also filed days before Myanmar would mark two years since Senior General Min Aung Hlaing seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

“Despite international attention and several ongoing accountability initiatives, the Myanmar military still enjoys complete impunity, and that must end. These crimes cannot go unpunished,” said Smith. The complaint also requested German authorities to launch a “structural investigation” of the situation in Myanmar which Fortify Rights believes would uncover numerous other crimes.

(With inputs from agencies)

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