Facts
From 14 January 1992 to 31 January 1994, as minister of defense and member of the High Council of State, Nezzar allegedly incited, authorized and ordered military and public agents to commit acts of torture, murders, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other grave violations of international humanitarian law. The “dirty war”, which ended in 2000, caused the death of approximately 200’000 persons and the disappearance of some 20’000 others.
Procedure
In October 2011, after having been informed of the presence of the suspect on Swiss territory, TRIAL International filed a criminal complaint against Nezzar for war crimes committed during the civil war in Algeria. Two victims of torture joined the procedure in 2011 by filing a criminal complaint before the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In 2012, 2014 and 2016, three other victims filed their own criminal complaints and became plaintiffs.
Nezzar was arrested in October 2011 and was interrogated by the OAG. His lawyers challenged the jurisdiction of the OAG, in particular on the grounds that Nezzar would benefit from jurisdictional immunity. His arrest warrant was lifted and he was allowed to leave the country.
In a 25 July 2012 decision, Nezzar’s appeal was rejected by the Federal Criminal Court which considered that functional immunities cannot be invoked for international crimes.
In early January 2017, the OAG dismissed the case, considering that the alleged acts committed by the former minister of defense could not be considered as war crimes, on the grounds that there was no war in Algeria when the acts allegedly occurred. On 16 January 2017, some of the plaintiffs appealed the decision before the Federal Criminal Court.
On 30 May 2018, the Federal Criminal Court overturned the decision of the OAG. The Court recognized the existence of a non-international armed conflict in Algeria in the early 1990s and found that there was no doubt that Nezzar was aware of the acts committed under his order. Therefore, the Court concluded that the OAG should complete its investigation into war crimes and determine whether Nezzar could also be charged with crimes against humanity, torture and murder.
In August 2018, a letter to Switzerland by the United Nations special rapporteurs on torture and on the independence of judges and lawyers was made public. It heavily criticized Switzerland for an alleged lack of independence and political interference, mentioning explicitly the case against Nezzar.
In 2019, Nezzar was tried in absentia in Algeria along with other former regime members and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for acts of conspiracy against the authority of the state. Despite this conviction, Nezzar returned to Algeria in December 2020, where he remained free.
In May 2022, one of the plaintiffs decided to withdraw his complaint against Nezzar following pressure allegedly exerted on him. In September of the same year, an additional victim filed an individual criminal complaint and was heard the following month. Other hearings, including of witnesses, took place between November and December 2022.
In early 2023, a complaint was closed because the victim, living in Algeria, could no longer be contacted. Amongst the remaining four plaintiffs, another victim passed away in 2023.
On 28 August 2023, the OAG indicted Nezzar for the war crimes of torture, inhumane treatment, arbitrary detention and wrongful conviction and the crime against humanity of murder committed between January 1992 and January 1994, and referred the case to the Federal Criminal Court.
On 21 December 2023, the OAG informed the parties that the trial would be held from 17 June to 19 July 2024.
On 29 December 2023, Nezzar passed away, which extinguished the criminal proceedings. The case has thus been closed.