Federation War Trials

The "Federation War Trials" more commonly known as "UNSC Tribunal Trials" by Federation Nationalists was the end of a regime and a war that caused the deaths of over 1.2 Billion People. Through an international court of justice, it would punish the leadership of the Federation of the Americas for the Federation War. This would ultimately bring about greater unity and cooperation through the members of the United Nations Security Command, and the reformation of a new United Nations. 
== History ==
=== Atrocities ===
The Federation War began in July of 2075, when the United States of America launched an invasion of the Federation of the Americas with the aim of liberating French Guinea, dismantling the Federation, and restoring peace to the Western Hemisphere. The Federation War soon expanded to a world wide conflict across multiple continents. By 2080s, the tide of war had changed, and it became very evident that the Federation of the Americas had committed atrocities on a scale never before since since World War II. The American Massacre, the hijacking of the ODIN Satellite, the Chemical Bombings of the European Federation, forced deportation, mass genocide, night raids, it was simply a nightmare. 
As by the late 2080s, the nations of the United States, United Korean Republic, Australia, India, the European Federation, Russian Federation, and many other nations came together to discuss the fate of the world when the war was over. But the biggest question, how do you punish acts that are this evil? How do you punish crimes so horrendous and unjust, that it makes Nazi Germany War Crimes look like a piece of cake. The first answer was to do nothing, to let all the genocide, all the death, and all the destruction go unpunished. How could the invaded United States, War torn European Federation, and the occupied Central America consent to such an act. The second option, was just to put all the perpetrators to death without trial. Eventually though, they came up with an option. 
=== Trial Set Up ===
The option the United Nations Security Command went for was persecution. Each perpetrator would be indicted, have a trial, and then get a sentence. But then there was another question, this was the first international military tribunal that had been set up in more than 100 years, how do you punish a person for crimes that are not present in others. The answer came in the form of the "International Military Court of Appeal Act of 2087" where the laws of the United States, European Federation, Russian Federation, Republic of India, United Korean Republic, and other states would be combined into one single charter. There would be a prosecution and defense attorney according to the laws of the United States and European Federation, but a jury would be made up of members of each nation, and a panel of judges from each nation would be set up. 
As the trial was set up, so were the charges of the trial. The charges were very simple, crimes against peace, such as perpetrating, planning, or initiating wars that violated the international code of law as abided by the Geneva convention. The second was crimes against Humanity, such as genocide, extermination, deportation, etc. The third was War Crimes, violation of the Geneva Convention such as executing prisoners of war, bombing civilians, arson, etc. The fourth indictment was conspiracy to commit any of the other three. The fifth indictment was miscellaneous, such as destroying evidence, or simply being a collaborator. It was possible for people to be indicted for either one, or all of the crimes. 
These trials were for the worst of the worst of the offenders. Trials for soldiers, doctors, and simple employees of the Federation were handled in local courts or a smaller trial. However, those who created the Federation Government, those who commanded the Federation Military, and those who participated in the genocide were put here on trial. Given the amount of those Federation officers who committed suicide, only 48 personnel were indicted at the trial, including Federation President Rosa Cossette D'Elise in the later years.
Eventually, after Operation Scorched Earth, the trial was almost ready to begin. The war was over, the men and women had been captured, and the and the crimes were determined. A language barrier was avoided at the trial due to the use of automatic translators. Each country was given a prosecutor, and a team of about 10 representatives behind them. But, there was a problem, where would the trial be held at? The United Nations? Geneva? Where would be a good place. The answer? Why not Panama City. After the war, when the Federation collapsed, new countries were formed after the war. One of the new countries was the Federal Republic of Pariah, a unification of the states of Central America. Panama City was the Capital of this new country, and given that Central America had been occupied throughout the entirety of the war, they were more than delighted to give a location for the trial. 
The defendants were allowed to have a copy of the indictments they were being charged for, the evidence put against them, and to be represented to a a lawyer of there choice. Of course, these people chose the best lawyers that the Federation of the Americas had to offer. These lawyers were highly skilled at there jobs, and were some of the best lawyers in the world, and possibly the only ones who could represent them. None the less, the trial would begin.
== The Trial ==
=== Prosecution ===
The trial first began by the presentation of the evidence put against the perpetrators. Initially, there was fear that there would be no evidence against them, however, the prosecution had forgotten the culture of the Federation. The Federation of the Americas documented everything, from the internment camps, to the Chemical Weapons Bombings, to the hijacking of the Orbital Defense Initiative. 176 crates of binders and papers, 14,000 tons of party records, and over 72 hours worth of film were all ceased at the end of the war. Some of the items ceased included drawings of execution chambers, the cells, and even official torture manuals. 
The prosecution was horrified at what they saw, and they went directly after the atrocities of the war. They went after not only the atrocities, but also the conspiracy to commit these horrendous acts. This included justification for these acts as an act of revenge for US interference in Latin-America, or reparations for attacks from resistance to the occupation, or the use of Chemical Weapons to cause chaos to allow for swift invasion. The prosecution pulled out incriminating document after incriminating document. One of them was from the Federation Science Division, which included detailed experiments against the victims to create new weapons. 
=== Defense ===
The defense attorney's of these men argued to the best of there abilities to spare the lives of there clients. For example, the Federation General Diego Almagro, who was the leadership of the Federation Special Forces, the PMC Elite. He was found to be responsible for the plot to hijack the Orbital Defense Initiative and the subsequent use of it against the United States, killing 42 Million people, 38 Million of whom were Americans. In his defense, Diego Almagro pulled out a microphone recording from the X-Day, which showed Federation leader Rosa Cossette D'Elise supposedly giving the order to use the weapon against the United States. 
Another defense was that of Federation Minister of External Affairs, Isabella Hernandez. She was responsible for the implementation of the Occupied Territories Human Labor Acts. This included the use of hundreds if not thousands of slave labor workers from Europe, the Americas, to Asia, and Africa and deporting them to Federation territory to work in factories. In her defense, her attorney presented evidence that the plan was actually drawn up by the Federation Economic Commission, and that she was pressured to sign it. 
==== Special Cases ====
During the trial, there were plenty of special cases for the indicted that often spared there lives. One of these cases was the trial of the the CEO of Industrias Soberanas, or Sovereign Industries, Samuel De Leon. His company was a Federation Private Military Corporation that was the backbone of recruitment for the combined arms of the Confederacy of Independent Nations. He was initially charged with crimes against humanity, however his lawyer noted that this person was simply a businessman, and that those who committed these crimes were under the command of Federation Generals. Thus he was simply let go and acquitted of the crimes, but received five years in prison for fraud charges. 
Other cases included the trial of the Admiral of the Federation Navy, Nicolas Morales. He was charged for breaching of the Geneva Convention for rules of naval warfare. He was directly responsible for directing naval strikes that killed multiple civilians. However, his attorney presented evidence that the United States of America had committed the exact same acts, and therefore his attorney argued that why punish him for a crime that there enemy also committed. The prosecution agreed, and he was only sentenced to 10 years in prison. 
=== Sentences ===
All in all, the results came in. Six of the perpetrators were acquitted of all crimes in the war, and 10 were given lighter sentences. However, the remaining of the perpetrators were given there sentences. 14 of the perpetrators ranging from the Admiral of the entire Federation Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Federation Minister of Internal Affairs, the governors of occupied America, the governors of occupied Europe, and the Federation Science Division were sentenced to death by Lethal Injection. The other 10 were given sentences of life in prison, but some were released due to ill health. 
== Trial of Rosa Cossette D'Elise ==
In 2089, two years after the end of the war, and as the trials were wrapping up, a surprising twist of events hit the world. Rosa Cossette D'Elise, the previous President of the Federation of the Americas, voluntarily handed herself over to UNSC Authorities. Initially they didn't believe her story, but a DNA test soon confirmed that it was her. Rosa Cossette D'Elise was indicted on all of the crimes, here then she was brought in front of the UNSC Military Tribunal. 
Rosa Cossette D'Elise was in very hot water, as she was the revered and respected leader of the Federation of the Americas, and was in charge of everything. She legally had command over the entire government and military command structure, and was involved with everything with the Federation, only she had the power to authorize such atrocities. In one damming pieces of evidence, President Cossette was recorded saying the following..."Consider America, a pariah state with rotting warehouses filled with vermin. We must take all that we can from it before it falls in on itself, it must be stripped clean. America is the smallest germ, once planted, and can spread to kill the largest giant" - Rosa Cossette D'EliseShe was also shown to have given presentation about the internment camps, and the plan to authorize the invasion of the European Federation. These films were presented in front of the prosecution, some of whom began to cry at just how this was. Not only this, evidence was presented about the executive orders she had signed, such as the creation of the ZUES Project, the medical experiments, and plenty other documents she had signed that seemed so immorally evil.
However, as the prosecution finished there case, the defense attorneys came with evidence, evidence that changed the course of the entire trial. Her personal diaries that she had kept, and other documents that she had signed that ultimately allowed the course of the war the way it did. Essentially, there was a feeling amongst the Federation High Command and Council of Commanders about Rosa Cossette D'Elise's ability to lead the country, feeling that she wasn't to hard core enough. She also presented evidence that the quote against her was forged, and that she actually said..."Consider if you will. The United States of America has murdered thousands of civilians across our territory for over a century, and has publicly admitted that they consider this hemisphere as its territory, and they had free will to do whatever it want. Even after a depression, a pandemic, and a corruption war, they still refuse to accept that we as the Federation of the Americas are independent. Keeping this in mind, I say that we must use our military might to bring the United States to the point to negotiate on our terms, if that means taking it all, then so be it." - Rosa Cossette D'EliseThis was further backed up the Rosa Cossette D'Elise's charter called the "American Integration Act" which stated that American Citizens were not citizens of the Federation of the Americas, and were thus subject to different laws that went against the Federation Government in hopes to integrate the American people into one centralized state. However, this notion was burred, and remained in Rosa's personal vault until she fled the city. This was backed up by digital copies of the document that were burned by Federation Generals when receiving the order. 
Eventually Rosa Cossette D'Elise was asked the biggest question of the trial. If she was so innocent as she said she was, why did she order the hijacking of the Orbital Defense Initiative to be turned against the United States, killing 38 Million Americans in the process and transforming the geography of the Southwest United States, her defense presented new evidence. Her defense stated that the Orbital Defense Initiative was a direct violation of Space Force Treaty of 2042. She also presented that the targets that were hit by the ODIN Strikes were preprogrammed into the American Computers to hit cities rather than military bases. 
The trial of Rosa Cossette D'Elise was one of the longest in history. Her trial lasted for six months, and the prosecution and the defense had presented all of the evidence. The evidence was really damming, and there was no sign of tampering. Therefore it pointed to a huge political rivalry within the Federation government. In 2090, Rosa Cossette D'Elise's trial ended in a hung jury, and therefore no sentencing was carried out against her. This outcome angered practically everybody, especially in the Americans who wanted justice for there fallen. The Russians and Europeans were stunned at the evidence presented, and it changed the entire trial and understanding of the Federation. 
In 2091, Rosa Cossette D'Elise was once again retried, this time though she wasn't trialed in international court, she was trialed in court according to the Federal Kingdom of Trinidad, according to there laws. The judges were from the UNSC, and so was the prosecution. This time, Rosa's Defense brought up more evidence proclaiming her position, and how that under the circumstances she acted according to the boundaries within international law. However, she was eventually indicted on multiple accounts of crimes against peace, and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. However, after six years in prison she was released. 
As of 2100, Rosa Cossette D'Elise lives in Australia. She has since gone under a new name, and new identity. She was barred from ever setting foot inside Latin-America by the choice of the Republic of Trinidad and the Federal Republic of Pariah, and according to her parole by international court, she was banned from any political role. Since then, she has become citizen of Australia and the European Federation, where she continues to live out her lifestyle.
Category:Events