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| Latin America |
| War Crime Case Against Castro May Stand |
| 2003-07-01 |
| EFL: Changes to Belgium's war crime laws to prevent complaints against President Bush and other U.S. officials shouldn't derail a case against Fidel Castro, an American group that filed charges against the Cuban leader said Tuesday. This could be fun, just to watch Fidel rant. He could always stroke out in the middle of one of his 6 hour speeches. Under pressure from the United States, the Belgian government has proposed altering the law that allows its courts to try crimes against humanity anywhere in the world. The government's proposal would change the law so that a charge could be filed only if the victim is a citizen or resident of Belgium or there is some other direct link to the country. Judicial Watch, a Washington-based conservative legal group said the changes would not stop its case filed on behalf of exiled Cubans against Castro. The complaint accuses the leader of false imprisonment, torture and persecution. Because some of the plaintiffs live in Belgium, or have Belgian citizenship, the complaint can proceed, said Larry Klayman, chairman of Judicial Watch. Another proposed change that would grant immunity to leaders while in office also does not apply because Castro was not elected and is not likely to be prosecuted at home. Gee, someone noticed. "Castro will never leave office ... as a consequence he should be subject to prosecution," said Klayman, who was in Brussels as part of a European tour to lobby governments to take a harder line against the Cuban leader. He was accompanied by Alina Fernandez, Castro's exiled daughter, and Blanca Rosa Gonzalez, whose son was recently jailed in a crackdown on critics of the government. Klayman expressed satisfaction that the European Union had criticized Castro following the sentencing of 75 dissidents to long prison terms and the firing-squad executions of three men who hijacked a ferry. "I believe the European Union is sincere and they want to help us end the wave of repression," Klayman said. "There has been a marked shift." About Fidel, at least. He hoped European nations, which have large investments and trade ties with Cuba, would use their influence on Castro. "Europe has a lot of leverage that the United States does not have," he said. "I can't name any at the moment, but I'm sure they do." |
| Posted by:Steve |