Algerian ex-defence chief can face war crime charges

GENEVA: A Swiss court on Wednesday cleared the way for former Algerian defence minister Khaled Nezzar to face war crimes charges, the latest twist in a winding legal saga.

Nezzar, in office from 1990 to 1994 while Algeria was battling Islamists in a brutal civil war, has been accused of torture and arbitrary arrests by a group of alleged victims. Last year, the Swiss attorney general’s office said it could not move forward with the case as there was no conclusive evidence of a "conflict" in Algeria during the period in question, leaving a key condition for prosecution unfulfilled. In a May 30 ruling, made public on Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Tribunal overturned that decision following an appeal by the plaintiffs.