A human rights group and 16 people from Myanmar have filed a criminal complaint in Germany seeking punishment of Myanmar’s generals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity they alleged were committed in that country after their 2021 government takeover and during a 2017 crackdown on Muslim Rohingya.
Fortify Rights, a complainant in the case announced Tuesday in Bangkok, noted “the individuals responsible for crimes related to both have yet to be held accountable.” The federal prosecutor’s office in Germany, where the legal complaint was filed last Friday, declined to comment on it.
The office would have to decide whether to file an indictment before the matter can go to court, a potentially lengthy process. About 740,000 Rohingya fled for safety into neighboring Bangladesh after their villages were burned and they became targets for mass rape and murder.
The military is accused of carrying out similar atrocities against people throughout Myanmar who opposed the 2021 army takeover and sought a return to democracy, finally taking up arms when their peaceful protects were quashed with deadly force.
