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.
