Myanmar activists file complaint in Germany accusing generals of genocide

BANGKOK: Myanmar activists and 16 alleged victims of abuse have filed a criminal complaint in Germany accusing top generals of instigating genocide against Rohingya Muslims and other atrocities since a military coup two years ago.

The filing is the latest in a series of international legal efforts to hold the Myanmar military accountable for the alleged atrocities against the country's Rohingya minority and democracy supporters and civilians opposed to the coup.

Fortify Rights, a human rights group backing the complaint, said Germany was picked because of its recognition of the principle of universal competence, which holds that a national court can try people accused of serious international crimes.

The complaint shows that the Myanmar military systematically killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, disappeared, persecuted, and committed other crimes that constitute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, according to Matthew Smith, chief executive officer and co-founder of Fortify Rights. Fortify Rights hopes that German authorities will start an investigation and take up the complaint.

A Syrian ex-intelligence officer was jailed last year for life for murder, rape and crimes against humanity, marking the first conviction for state-backed torture committed during Syria's civil war.

The German embassy in Myanmar could not be reached for comment.

The 16 individual complainants in the Myanmar filing include ethnic Rohingya and others who survived or witnessed crimes in Myanmar since the coup, Fortify Rights said.