Switzerland charges former Algerian defense minister with war crimes

GENEVA (AA) – Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has submitted charges against former Algerian Defense Minister Khaled Nezzar of crimes against humanity committed during Algeria’s civil war between 1992 and 1994.

The OAG charged 85-year-old Nezzar at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, in the Swiss canton of Ticino, for crimes against humanity committed between 1992 and 1994 during Algeria’s civil war, the office said in a statement posted on its website.

According to the charges, Nezzar violated international law of war and committed crimes against humanity in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

In the charge sheet, he is alleged to have knowingly and willingly at least approved, coordinated, and encouraged torture and “other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” violations of physical and psychological integrity, arbitrary detentions and sentences, and executions.

Nezzar, the former military general, became Algeria’s Defense Minister in July 1990. After the Islamic Salvation Front’s electoral victory in 1991, he was among the leading generals who decided to depose then-President Chadli Bendjedid and annul the elections, marking the beginning of the Algerian civil war.

On October 19, 2011, TRIAL International, a non-governmental organization that works to combat international crime impunity and supports victims in their quest for justice, filed a criminal complaint against Nezzar, beginning a nearly 12-year-long legal battle.

He is currently said to be living in his hometown of Seriana, in Algeria’s Batna Province.