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Gaza Flotilla Attack: Calls for International Criminal Court to Step In
Turkish victims ask international criminal court to pursue Israeli gunmen over raid on ship
The international criminal court is being urged to prosecute members of the Israeli defence force for the raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship. Turkish victims have formally requested an investigation, the Guardian has learned.
Israeli navy commandos intercept the Mavi Marmara on its way to Gaza in May. (Kate Geraghty/Sydney Morning Herald) Lawyers acting for Turkish citizens injured or killed when Israel
intercepted the flotilla in May have written to Luis Moreno Ocampo, the
court's prosecutor, claiming there is an "overwhelming" case for
prosecution.
The request is a significant step towards a criminal investigation by the court, which experts say has jurisdiction to prosecute those involved in the raid despite Israel not recognising its jurisdiction.
"The attack on the flotilla occurred in international waters, which directly violated many parts of international law as well as international public and criminal law," said Ramazan Ariturk, a partner at Elmadag Law Office, the Turkish legal body that is representing the Turkish victims and the human rights group IHH. "The crimes committed by Israeli Defence Forces should be prosecuted and the International Criminal Court is the sole authority which is able to do that."
There is mounting pressure on Israel after a UN report into the incident, in which nine Turkish activists were killed, accused Israel of violating international law.
The report, published last month, said Israel "betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality" during the raid on the flotilla and it "constituted grave violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law".
Israel condemned the report as "biased and distorted". It has created its own state-appointed inquiry, headed by retired supreme court justice Jacob Turkel.
An Israeli government spokesperson said: "The event is being investigated by Israel including international observers, as well as a UN investigation initiated by the UN secretary general. Further investigations are redundant and unnecessary, and will contribute to further alienation between otherwise friendly countries."
The likelihood of Israel being prosecuted for its actions in Gaza has long attracted controversy. Last year a group of leading lawyers publicly accused Israel of war crimes following Operation Cast Lead, citing the blockade and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza as evidence.
Neither Isreal nor the Palestinian territories are parties to the Rome statute, which established the international criminal court. An investigation of incidents involving the two countries is possible only after a reference from the UN security council.
But the Turkish victims' lawyers say the involvement of Turkey with the Mavi Marmara and the fact it was sailing under the flag of the Comoros Islands give the court with jurisdiction. Both countries are members of the ICC.
"Based on the overwhelming volume of materials and evidence in our possession, amassed since the date of the incident itself, including expert opinions obtained from prominent specialists in international criminal law, we are of the view that the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla involves crimes which fall unambiguously within the jurisdiction of the court," the letter says.
The victims' calls were backed up last week by Desmond da Silva, a QC and former UN war crimes prosecutor who said there were technical grounds for asking the ICC to intervene.
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30 Comments so far
Show AllSo far I have yet to hear of any objections regarding Israel's murder of a US citizen. Clinton and Obama, missing in action!
Clinton and Obama on the Zionist payroll.
Washington DC is occupied Israeli territory. Th, th, th, th, thats all folks.
Why would you? Obama claims the right to be able kill ANY American he wants to himself, as judge jury and executioner. Are you surprised when he extends that "right" to his Zionist buddies?
The U.S. State Department remains silent, even though many U.S. citizens were abducted off the Gaza Flotilla, treated harshly, and had all their belongings stolen by the Israeli Army. What to do? Let us all stop paying federal income tax until our government abides by the rule of law.
I agree, I'm sure much (government supported) violence will follow. Do we have the revolutionary spirit much
admired in our forefathers?
The last time I checked the US Secretary of State owed her job to the Zionists.
I have a better idea. Set up a barter system with your boss, neighbors and grocery store so you don't make enough 'money' to pay taxes but you still obtain goods and services invisible to the currency? It's legal. The IRS will only come after you if they can prove you are getting a 'fringe benefit' from your employer that can be equated to a certain amount of added income to be taxed. Shut off the war spigot legally. Be poor on paper, increase your connection to community with barter and feel better about life.
But be careful with the term 'barter'. The IRS could grab a hold of that to 'value' your income. When you give somebody something, ALWAYS document the fact that it is a GIFT. Get it?
I wish I knew why Israel is always able to get away with any kind of action, that would be considered a crime if an other country did the same. Why bother about Somali pirats, when they're doing just about the same thing?
Simple. Somali pirates disrupt trade, the attack on the flotilla did not.
A lot of those Somali "pirates" aren't pirates at all, but fishermen whose industry is being destroyed by European and other countries' dumping toxic waste in the waters and on the shores, disregarding national boundaries. So they're more a political force than just a bunch of robbers.
And they're not Israeli. Seems to make a difference, these days.
Maybe the tide is turning, finally.
You know, a lot of them are just pirates.
When BUSH and his administration get away with WAR CRIMES, it sets the example for the world...¿no?
Don't forget Obama's and everyone that has ever worked with Kissenger's. Madeline "small price to pay" Albright, the list goes on n on.
Well this is a waste of time. The ICC does not have jurisdiction over the event. Period. Regardless of what the lawyers say. The ICC only has jurisdiction if:
The event in question is not being investigated by the state in question, and it is. You and I both know that nothing is going to come of that, but they are investigating it and that alone is enough to stop jurisdiction of the ICC as this is the letter of the law.
AND
1. The accused is a citizen or in the employ of a member state. They were not.
2. The event in question occured in the territory of a member state. It did not.
3. The event had been passed to the ICC by the Security Council.
It just is not going to happen no matter how anyone complains, the ICC simply does not have jurisdiction.
From AOL: "The attack on the flotilla occurred in international waters, which directly violated many parts of international law as well as international public and criminal law," said Ramazan Ariturk, a partner at Elmadag Law Office, the Turkish legal body that is representing the Turkish victims and the human rights group IHH. "The crimes committed by the Israel Defense Forces must be prosecuted and the International Criminal Court is the sole authority which is able to do that."
The Turkish lawyers wrote that it was within the jurisdiction of the international court to prosecute those responsible for the flotilla incident, even though Israel and the Palestinian Authority do not recognize the court's authority.
The lawyers argue that the fact that Turkey was involved in the incident and that the Mavi Marmara sailed under a Comoro Islands flag grant the court the jurisdiction to investigate the incident, since those states are themselves signatories of the Rome Statute, which established the court.
Well said.
Wishful thinking on the part of the Turkish lawyers. It doesn't matter if Turks were involved, they weren't the offending party. In effect, being a member state of the treaty allows YOUR people to be prosecuted, it does not protect them from the actions of non-member states unless the event in question occurred in the territory of a member state.
The statute is cleear and this event is not covered. Full stop.
It makes a nice news story and plays well at home, but it is sort of like asking a judge in Iceland to decide a murder in Zanzibar. There is no jurisdiction.
What makes Israel "the state in question", given that the act of piracy took place in international waters?
OK the fact is the court would make indictments against individuals not the state involved, but we know this is about the state really as they ordered and planned the attack as a state. In any court, the verdict would be against the individuals in fact, but in reality it would be at the government for the ordering of the attack.
Israel attacked the Turkish ship (convoy was international of course). That means Israel is the "defendant" in a legal proceeding and Turkey is the "plaitif". Not the right words but you get the drift. Israel, or Israeli citizens, are the individuals in question.
The ICC is a reactionary body (not in a political sense, but a functional sense.) It responds to events where one party is claiming an action by another party that falls under the ICC jurisdiction and mandate. Clearly the mandate portion is fulfilled, but the fact that the OFFENDING party is not a member of the court, and that the event did not take place in the territory of a member country (No... a ship is not territory of the flagged country...), means that the court is BARRED from hearing the case unless it is passed to the court by the Security Council.
Want to see if that happens? Make a bet?
Anyone?
Bueller?
As the events concerned took place aboard a Turkish vessel, this occurred on Turkish "territory" in law. QED
One more note, only about half the population of the planet even lives in member states of the ICC. The perception is that this is an important organ of the UN, but as of now it really is just a vestige.
So this is a question of legitimacy only if everybody else does it. Okay, I'll bite. There is this country out there that has nukes (who could it be?) that refuses to sign on to nuclear non-proliferation treaties that 90% of the other nuke owning countries have signed. How come?
I remember now! ISRAEL is the one who has nukes and won't sign despite what almost all the other nuke owning countries do.
I guess the 'everybody else does it' legitimacy meme applies only when ISRAEL wants it to.
Tell me, was that book 1984 included in the Israeli constitution back in 48?
No? Why not?
I know. It was because nobody else would do such a thing.
Israel condemned the report as "biased and distorted".
Hey Jon Stewart, how about some jokes on this brazen Orwellian statement from the captains of bias and distortion.
I know. The great comedian Jon Stewart has no sense of irony or humor when ISRAEL is involved.
So tell us Jon, what's the difference between a Zionist and a Jew?
Of course they are spelled differently, Jon. That wasn't the question.
Try this one, Jon. Can a Jew be against Zionist ethnic cleansing policies and still be a loyal Israeli citizen?
He hung up again after calling me anti-semitic, biased and distorted.
Some people just have no sense of humor.
News that M$M doesn't report:
This past Tuesday, another Gazan was seriously injured when picking strawberries with members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) after being shot by an Israeli sniper. Just a couple weeks ago, Israel killed 3 Gazans farmers including a 91 year old were killed by Israeli tank shells, Israel killed a Gazan fisherman off the coast, and Israel shot another demonstrator in Gaza when ISM members were present. How many of these incidents were reported by MSM? Thank the likes of Boxer, Feingold and Murray for their recent signing a letter essentially supporting Israel.
http://palsolidarity.org/
I don't even bother to read the Israeli POV in any news story. I just skip past it.
Why would they investigate Israeli piracy and occupation when they do not investigate the larger crime by the US of illegally invading several countries and causing the death of millions of civilians over the course of nine years? We cannot even get any legal action against our own war crimes. As Oaxaca says, we set a precedent favoring all the murderous bullies of the world.
Joe