South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal today reserved judgment in the appeal hearing that that South Africa was obliged under international law to probe alleged atrocities by officials in Zimbabwe. A lower court had ruled that the National Prosecuting Authority could prosecute Zimbabweans alleged to have committed atrocities if they ever set foot in South Africa. South African police argued that they could investigate a person involved in an alleged crime only when that person set foot in the country. To spend resources on an investigation where there were no prospects of a prosecution, such as if a foreigner might enter the country, would be wrong “because it would lead to nothing”.
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