Bensouda started a preliminary examination of the case in September 2018. She found "a reasonable basis to believe that at least 700,000 Rohingya" had been coercively deported, with the commission of crimes under Articles 7(1)(d), 7(1)(k) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, partly in Myanmar and partly in Bangladesh. On 4 July 2019 she requested permission to start a full investigation for events of the deportation starting since 9 October 2016.[5]
Investigation
On 14 November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the ICC authorised the investigation to commence, with scope covering crimes linked to the request that partly occurred in Bangladesh on or after 1 June 2010. The Chamber justified the 2010 start date based on the information it had received about crimes apparently committed earlier than 2016, and 1 June 2010 based on the date of Bangladesh becoming a party to the Rome Statute. No end date was set for the scope, on the condition that other crimes are "sufficiently linked" to the request for opening the investigation.[1]: 53–57
The initial investigations focused on violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017 and the movements of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh that followed the violence.[2] Evidence considered in the investigation included witness reports, "documentary evidence and authenticated scientific, photographic and video materials".[3]
On 27 November 2024, ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan requested an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing from Pre-Trial Chamber I, stating that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Hlaing held "criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh" between 25 August 2017 and 31 December 2017 by Tatmadaw, including Border Guard Forces, and by the Myanmar Police Force and non-Rohingya civilians.[2][3][4]
Reactions
A Human Rights Watch legal advisor described the 27 November 2024 arrest warrant request against Hlaing as "com[ing] amid renewed atrocities against Rohingya civilians that echo those suffered seven years ago" and stated that "the ICC's action is an important step toward breaking the cycle of abuses and impunity that has long been a key factor in fueling the military's mass violations."[3] Tun Khin of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation described the request as "another step towards justice and accountability."[4]
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