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{{Era|HCW|Post}}
{{Wikipedia|War crime}}
A '''war criminal''' is a person who violates the laws of war during a conflict and commits various heinous acts. Examples of war crimes can include torture and genocide. During the [[Human-Covenant War]], a number of war crimes were committed, particularly by the [[Covenant]] who sought the genocide of the human race. 

After an encounter with [[Prelate]] [[Tem'Bhetek]], [[Sangheili]] [[Fleetmaster]] [[Rtas 'Vadum]] decided to track down the remaining [[San'Shyuum]] and determine which deserved to be punished for the attempted genocide of the Sangheili during the [[Great Schism]], and which ones had committed no prior crimes and were merely misled.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Shadow of Intent|SoI}}

==Notable examples of war criminals==
*[[Master Builder]] [[Faber]] - Placed on trial following the [[Battle of Janjur Qom]] for his use of the [[Halo Array]] to put down the [[San'Shyuum]] rebellion and other war crimes.<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', ''pages 250-251''</ref> However, the trial was interrupted by [[Mendicant Bias]]' [[Fate of Maethrillian|rebellion]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'''</ref> Died in the destruction of [[Omega Halo]] during the [[Battle of the greater Ark]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Silentium]]'''</ref>
*[[High Prophet of Truth]] - Orchestrated<ref name="Harvest">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'''</ref> and led the genocide of humanity. Orchestrated the [[Great Schism]].<ref name="Halo 2">'''[[Halo 2]]'''</ref> Attempted to fire the [[Halo Array]] and commit galaxy-wide genocide. Executed by [[Thel 'Vadam]] after being defeated during the [[Battle of Installation 00]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref>
*[[High Prophet of Mercy]] - Orchestrated{{Ref/Reuse|Harvest}} and led the genocide of humanity. Died after a [[Flood infection form]] was removed from his neck by [[John-117]] during the [[Fall of High Charity]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''</ref>
*[[High Prophet of Regret]] - Orchestrated{{Ref/Reuse|Harvest}} and led the genocide of humanity. Personally commanded the [[glassing]] of [[Charybdis IX]].<ref name="Cole">'''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]'''</ref> Attempted to have [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]] use a fleet of [[Forerunner]] {{Class|Sojourner|dreadnought}}s to destroy the human race "quickly and with ease."<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]'''</ref> Personally led [[Battle for Earth|an attack]] on [[Earth]],<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Cairo Station]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Outskirts]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Metropolis]]''</ref> and attempted to fire the [[Halo Array]] to commit galaxy-wide genocide. Assassinated by [[John-117]] during the [[Battle of Installation 05]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Regret (Halo 2 level)|Regret]]''</ref>
*[[Tartarus]] - A driving force in the genocide of humanity, he personally led the destruction of the planet [[Harvest]]{{Ref/Reuse|Harvest}} and as the [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]], led [[Jiralhanae|his race]] in an effort to genocide the [[Sangheili]] during the [[Great Schism]].{{Ref/Reuse|Halo 2}} Attempted to commit galaxy-wide genocide by activating the [[Halo Array]], but was defeated and killed during the [[Battle of Installation 05]] by the combined forces of Sergeant [[Avery Johnson]] and [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref>
*[[Major]] [[John Smith]] - An [[ONI Section Three]] agent considered to be a war criminal by [[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez|Lopez]] for experimenting on the [[Flood]] using humans and Covenant alike on the [[prison ship]] ''[[Mona Lisa]]'', supposedly on his own.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' - ''[[The Mona Lisa]]'', ''page 324''</ref> After arriving on the {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}, Smith was taken into custody on the orders of [[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]] for his crimes. The [[smart AI]] [[Rebecca]] stated that Smith would be court-martialed for his actions and "maybe even worse," but Foucault knew that if Smith was actually working under ONI Section Three orders instead of on his own as Smith claimed, he'd simply be used as a scapegoat.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''' - ''[[The Mona Lisa]]'', ''pages 330-331''</ref>
*[[Tem'Bhetek]] - Deliberately slaughtered many Sangheili civilians on Rhanelo with the help of Jiralhanae soldiers and plotted the genocide of the Sangheili on [[Sanghelios]]. Sacrificed himself to stop [[Boru'a'Neem]] after realizing he'd been tricked and was on the wrong side.{{Ref/Reuse|Shadow of Intent}}
*[[Boru'a'Neem]] - Manipulated Tem'Bhetek to become his enforcer and commit atrocities that he wouldn't have otherwise done. Plotted to commit genocide of the populace  [[Sanghelios]] with a [[Prototype Halo installation]]. Mortally wounded by [[Rtas 'Vadum]] and [[Tul 'Juran]] then tried to fire the installation to destroy his enemies in a final act of revenge. Failed when [[Tem'Bhetek]] sacrificed himself to destroy the installation before it could fire, taking Boru with it.{{Ref/Reuse|Shadow of Intent}}
*[[Thel 'Vadamee]] - As part of the Covenant, was responsible for the glassing of seven planets including [[Madrigal]], [[Charybdis IX]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole}} and [[Reach]] and the extermination of their inhabitants. Responsible for the death of over a billion humans.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', ''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''</ref> Pardoned by the UNSC after aiding John-117 at the end of the war. Became a valuable ally during the [[Created conflict]] for the UNSC.
*[[Ur-Didact]] - Attempted the [[Mind transfer|digital genocide]] of the human race at [[Earth]] using the [[Composer]] before being foiled by [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]]. Succeeded in [[Mind transfer|digitizing]] seven million people [[New Phoenix Incident|in]] [[New Phoenix]].<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref> [[Mind transfer|Digitized]] following the [[Mission to Installation 03]] by [[Blue Team]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Escalation]]'''</ref>
*Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] - Considered a war criminal by many in the UNSC for "committing acts likely to aid the enemy" by stealing the ''[[Beatrice]]'', kidnapping [[Kelly-087]] and telling [[Lord Hood]] to send more Spartans to [[Onyx]] — all with the sole intention of hiding in [[Sarcophagus|the]] [[shield world]] until the war was over, crimes for which she was arrested and imprisoned upon emerging from the shield world in [[2553]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'''</ref> Later gave direct aid to [[Jul 'Mdama]] and [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|his Covenant]]. Currently aiding the UNSC in an effort to thwart [[Cortana]]'s ambition and the [[Created]].
*[[SPARTAN-II]] [[Gray Team]] - [[Operation: SUNSPEAR|Destroyed]] the [[Sangheili]] [[Sangheili colonies|colony world]] of [[Glyke]] with a [[NOVA bomb]] just days after [[Treaty of 2552|a tentative peace treaty]] was established with the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] that they were unaware of, killing billions. In [[2558]], following the [[Carrow Conflict]], was offered a deal by [[ONI]] where in exchange for their joining an interspecies strike force operating in the [[Joint Occupation Zone]], they would receive a formal pardon from [[Thel 'Vadam]]. After adding a list of their own demands, Gray Team accepted the deal and were pardoned for their actions.<ref>'''[[Halo: Envoy]]'''</ref>

==Trivia==
*In ''[[Halo Infinite]]'', [[Glibnub]] accuses the player of being a war criminal for destroying half of his [[propaganda tower]]s with the destruction being a war crime.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 2]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]''
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]''
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
*''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadow of Intent]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
*''[[Halo: Envoy]]''
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

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