militant group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, with terrorism and crimes
against humanity over a 2013 attack on a Nigerian town in which a
Spanish nun was assaulted, court papers said. Reutersreports:
Spain has pioneered the use of universal jurisdiction, the concept
that crimes against humanity can be prosecuted across borders, in
instances such as when a Spanish judge issued an arrest warrant for
Chile's Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998.
The Boko Haram case arises from a militant attack on the eastern
Nigerian town of Ganye on March 22, 2013 in which at least 25 people
were killed. Court papers issued on Thursday said militants assaulted
the nun, Maria Jesus Mayor, in Ganye before she was able to escape
into hiding and was later rescued by Nigerian security services.
The court documents gave no details of the alleged incident involving
the nun. The judge has asked for a study of Boko Haram from Interpol
and will obtain a declaration from Mayor about the incident, according
to the court papers.
For Spain to carry out universal jurisdiction, there must be a Spanish
connection such as a Spanish victim or perpetrator. In the Boko Haram
case, the state prosecutor used the fact there was a Spanish victim to
bring a generic charge of crimes against humanity and terrorism, a
court source said.
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