MYANMAR – On November 27, the Office of the ICC announced that, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim A.A. Khan KC has filed an appeal at the ICC court for an arrest warrant for the Burmese military leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has been convicted of crimes against humanity to the Rohingya from Rakhine State.
In 2016 and 2017, the waves of violence and killings in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and the exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh and subsequent crimes have been investigated since November 14, 2019. After a wide-ranging, independent and impartial investigation, the ICC Court concluded that Chief of Defense Staff Min Aung Hlaing was guilty of crimes against humanity. The ICC has reported that the military has committed torture and deportation of the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The ICC court’s application to issue an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing is the first application to issue an arrest warrant for this case, and it is understood that more will follow.
In the application filed to issue an arrest warrant, it includes there are many witnesses, evidence and scientifically witness statements including photographs and video materials.
“Now, we apply for an arrest warrant after deciding that the crime has been proven after investigating and prosecuting at the ICC court. It will only take a few months. The arrest warrant is for the Rohingya case alone,” said Roh Nay San Lwin, a leading activist on the Rohingya issue.
