Swiss federal prosecutors say they've indicted a former Algerian defense minister for his alleged role in crimes against humanity during the insurrection in the North African country some three decades ago.
FILE - Former Algerian Defense Minister and retired Gen. Khaled Nezzar smiles as he answers reporters at the Paris courthouse Monday, July 1, 2002. Swiss federal prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted a former Algerian defense minister, now aged 85 and reportedly on his deathbed, for his alleged role in crimes against humanity during the North African countrys insurrection some three decades ago.
“The case file doesn't make it possible to establish either that Gen. Khaled Nezzar ordered or gave assistance to abuses held against him, or even that he was informed about them or refrained from acting to prevent them," Caroline Schumacher and Magali Buser said in a statement. The indictment comes 12 years after the attorney general's office opened criminal proceedings against Nezzar, who at the time resided in Switzerland, following a complaint filed by the advocacy group Trial International.
The group said Nezzar would be the highest-ranking military official ever tried for war crimes crimes and crimes against humanity under the principle of universal jurisdiction. The case now moves to the Federal Criminal Court in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona. Nezzar is entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
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