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| Europe | |
| UK to face war crimes court for attrocities in Iraq | |
| 2003-07-30 | |
The prosecutor of the world's first permanent war crimes court will review a dossier containing allegations of human rights abuses by British troops in Iraq, the court said on Monday. Members of the Athens Bar Association have called on International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo to investigate 22 alleged incidents involving British forces in the war. The Greek lawyers handed a dossier containing 74 press reports and 13 video tapes of news reports from the war in Iraq to the prosecutor. The ICC has received around 500 complaints from 66 countries since the global court came into force in July 2002. It has not yet initiated a full investigation. Both Britain and Greece are among 91 countries which recognise and support the court. More than 100 complaints so far have concerned the US-led war in Iraq. America claims immunity from these courts which are setup to provide justice against the attrocities commited by government despite the fact that its forces have killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Iraq recently and many more in the previous attacks on different countries, not to mention the biggest war crime ever in the recorded history — the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki whose after effects can still be seen in that area.
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #12 The Greek lawyers handed a dossier containing 74 press reports and 13 video tapes of news reports from the war in Iraq to the prosecutor. I could probably find 1000 press reports and a couple of hundred videotapes of Brit troops patting puppies and passing out candy to kids. Would that get them off the hook? This is their evidence? Real solid case ya got there. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-7-30 10:23:20 PM |
| #11 I wonder if (god forbid) the former Rapist-in-Chief gets to be UNSG that he will submit to the court? Lots of Serbs, Sudanese, etc. want to try him for war crimes. If he goes on trial will Senator Clinton defend him or some other lefty? This is what Sitcoms (or HBO Specials) are made of. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-7-30 4:55:25 PM |
| #10 Per the article above, let me see if I have this right. The Belgians revoked their inalienable right to try anyone, anywhere, for anything -- but the Greeks, attempting to use the ICC, have stepped in seize the high ground in international oversight. Ah, there is hope yet for an international bureaucracy of meddlers. Next, we'll be hauling in people from nations that refuse to pay their increased assessments to fund those who have appointed themselves World Judges. |
| Posted by: Highlander 2003-7-30 12:22:33 PM |
| #9 I guess they needed to get these filed by Thurday, July 31, since the EU goes on mandatory vacation Friday for the month of August. (Feel an old 60's song coming on...) "Will (we) see you, in September? Or lose you, To a summer love? |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-7-30 12:14:24 PM |
| #8 LH - you've got class, man, real class. Cool. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-30 11:29:38 AM |
| #7 this seems to me to be strong evidence for the anti-ICC case. These 22 cases would only be the tip of the iceberg if Americans signed onto the ICC. Oh sure the cases can be thrown out, but the point is, people would be continually bringing up case after case after case. This is another brilliant European experiment. I give it two years before they are crushed under the paperwork of silly cases (or maybe that's the point, to give some unemployed bureaucrats work). |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-7-30 10:59:02 AM |
| #6 first question to the Dem challenger to Bush - would you submit to the authority of the ICC? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-7-30 10:25:57 AM |
| #5 this is very good news for the Bush admin - it makes their opposition to the ICC look much more reasonable. All those in Europe - Blair and sympathizers - who supported ICC, but see this as political prosecution, will have some explaining to do. I confess I was never a hardcore ICC oppponent like some here, but this seems to me to be strong evidence for the anti-ICC case. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-7-30 9:00:25 AM |
| #4 oh yes, i can see it is a MUCH higher priority to prosecute the british for shooting a civilian by accident (for example) which is an aberration and which would be investigated anyway, than for instance to try to prosecute the hutus for killing a million tutsis (or was it the other way round?) or Saddam's old regime for gassing the Kurds/attempted genocide of the Marsh Arabs, or Dear Leader's psycopathic starvation of his people, or Indonesia's attempted genocide in East Timor culminating in the bloody violence when the troops finally moved out a couple of years ago... yes, it all makes perfect sense. |
| Posted by: Anon1 2003-7-30 4:21:24 AM |
| #3 Oh yeh! The circus is in town. Watch the zany hilarity of the newest group of clowns, the Athens Bar Association, as they try to act serious. Laugh as a bunch of old Greek lefties try to make the British Army jump through hoops. |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-7-30 3:55:29 AM |
| #2 "Sign up to the ICC and receive 2 not-guilty verdicts for free!" Some conditions apply. While supplies last. Offer not valid in America. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-7-30 12:57:21 AM |
| #1 This particular Steve is surprised only that Bush wasn't named first. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-7-30 12:48:35 AM |