OZ LAWYER SEEKS PROSECUTION OF SUU KYI
Lawyers in Melbourne have filed a private prosecution application against Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is in Australia, on charges of crimes against humanity.
The private prosecution application faces significant barriers to proceeding – a universal jurisdiction prosecution in Australia requires the consent of the attorney general.
Suu Kyi, who is state counsellor and de facto leader of the Myanmar government, is accused in the application of crimes against humanity for the deportation or forcible transfer of a population in relation to widespread and ongoing human rights abuses inside Myanmar.
More than 650,000 Rohingya have crossed the border to Bangladesh since August, fleeing systemic violence from the country’s military including murder, rape, and the deliberate torching of villages.
Ron Merkel QC, a Melbourne barrister and former federal court judge, international lawyers Marion Isobel and Raelene Sharp, and Sydney human rights lawyers Alison Battisson and Daniel Taylor filed the private prosecution application in the Melbourne magistrates court on Friday. The application is being assessed by the court and a response is expected next week. A formal request has also been sent to the office of the attorney general, Christian Porter.