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Oslo II: against impunity |
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News agencies, news websites
Dr. Haytham Manna, the general coordinator of the
International Coalition against War Criminals, on Friday April, 24th
2009 declared that the threat messages sent to Norwegian lawyers who
filed the first national lawsuit according to universal jurisdiction
constitute a state of intellectual political and judicial bankruptcy
for those defending the Hebrew State.
"They can do nothing but threats. A judicial file
should be faced with a judicial file and evidence should be faced
with "débat contradictoire" including evidence, and legal pleading
and reference. They should prepare international law experts and
human rights defenders instead of fueling up Mossad agents and false
propaganda services", said Manna who has returned yesterday from
Oslo after taking part in filing the lawsuit in the name of the
ICAWC.
"The Norwegian lawyers in the international coalition
have done a great job: held weekly meetings during the past four
months, searched for evidential data, did documentation with
Palestinians in 1948 occupied Palestinian territories, took part in
all activities of the coalition in Geneva, France, Belgium, took
part in the lawsuit filed before the International Criminal Court
and formed an official branch for the coalition in Norway giving an
example in dynamic nonstop work. The presence of a lawyer of
Palestinian origin,
Loai Deeb,
facilitated their contacts and a top figure like
Mads Gilbert, who witnessed the aggression and was
one of the most prominent workers operating under the aggression,
added so much to the credibility of the coalition in Scandinavian
countries. Al Dameer Human Rights Organization, Al-Mezan Human
Rights Centre and the coalition's fact-finding mission played a
significant role in the powers of attorney and consolidating
evidence".
For his part, lawyer Kjell M. Brygfjeld commented on
the threats saying:" The issue isn't about whom is supporting or
opposing us. Such methods will only increase our conviction that our
attitude is right. The issue is in which camp the one is standing:
in the camp of criminals or the camp of justice?”
The Norwegian National Prosecution Office announced
plans for hearing the lawsuit filed against 11 Israeli officials on
charges of committing war crimes in the latest Israeli aggression on
Gaza Strip, an aggression that left thousands martyred and injured
while the Israeli army issued a statement in which he dismissed
these charges. The Israeli embassy in Oslo declined to issue any
statement.
Siri Frigaard,
the general prosecutor at the Norwegian National Authority for
Prosecution of Organised and Other Serious Crime, said in a press
statement that she received the lawsuit filed against the Israeli
officials, pointing out that the office will study the legal
foundations of the charges before asking the police to investigate
them. She ruled out reaching a final decision this week.
Frigaard's statement came after
attorneys-at-law Bent Endresen, Geir Høin, Pål
Hadler, Harald Stabell, Loai Deeb and Kjell M. Brygfjeld filed a
lawsuit against
Former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert,
Former foreign minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni, and
current defence minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, in addition to other
7 military commanders, on charge of committing war crimes against
the Palestinian people in the latest aggression on Gaza Strip.
In a official statement issued on Wednesday April, 22nd,
2009, the Norwegian lawyers said that Olmert, Livni and Barak are
sharing legal responsibility for " large-scale terrorist attacks
directly and mainly targeting Gaza resident".
The statement also pointed out that the lawsuit
includes also killing civilians, destroying property, using
internationally banned weapons and targeting protected facilities
like hospitals. It pointed out that the Israeli commanders were
informed in advance, approved the operations carried out in Gaza and
knew in advance the consequences of this", clearly indicating this
crimes lives up to a premeditated crime.
One of the attorneys who filed the complaint, Bent
Endresen, was quoted by Associated Press by telephone as saying:"
There was a legal change that now gives a universal jurisdiction for
such war crimes. He said a Norwegian law that went into effect last
year allows foreigners to face charges in Norway for war crimes,
genocide and crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the
world.
Norway's Foreign Ministry said the complaint was a
matter for the legal system and not the government.
For its part, Israeli army on Wednesday issued a
statement in which it defended its behavior during the war,
dismissing charges of committing international law violations.
The statement came at the end of five internal probes
that concluded that the Israeli army "maintained a high professional
and moral level while facing an enemy that aimed to terrorize
Israeli civilians whilst taking cover amidst uninvolved civilians in
the Gaza strip and using them as human shields."
Human Rights Watch on Thursday responded to Israeli
allegations. "The Israeli military's findings about the conduct of
its forces in Gaza , announced on April 22, lack credibility and
confirm the need for an impartial international inquiry into alleged
violations by both Israel and Hamas," Human Rights Watch said in a
statement issued Thursday. HRW called on both Israel and Hamas to
cooperate with the expected United Nations probe into the war crime
allegations, and urged the sides to work with South African Justice
Richard Goldstone, who was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council
to lead the inquiry.
A group of ten Israeli human rights organizations
said that the findings reached by internal military probes are
"problematic", requiring a mainly independent probe into the
allegations against the army.
As for the Palestinian human rights organizations,
they saw the Israeli statement as a "red herring" and an attempt to
change the policy of systematic rejection to holding a probe due to
international pressures and more grave systematic violations and
crimes revealed every day.
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