THE HAGUE, Netherlands — TV network Al
Jazeera submitted the case of slain journalist
Shireen Abu Akleh to the
International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
The Qatar-based channel said it had “unearthed new
evidence” on the death of the Palestinian-American, who was shot and killed by
Israeli forces while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin in the occupied
West Bank on May 11.
Any person or group can file a complaint to the ICC
prosecutor for investigation, but the Hague-based court is under no obligation
to take on such cases.
Al Jazeera said its submission highlighted “new
witness evidence and video footage (that) clearly show that Shireen and her
colleagues were directly fired at by the Israeli occupation forces.”
“The claim by the Israeli authorities that Shireen
was killed by mistake in an exchange of fire is completely unfounded,” the
channel said.
An AFP journalist saw a lawyer representing Al
Jazeera’s case entering the ICC’s headquarters to hand over their submission.
The ICC last year launched a probe into war crimes
in the Palestinian territories, but Israel is not an ICC member and disputes
the court’s jurisdiction.
Israel conceded on September 5 that one of its
soldiers had likely shot Abu Akleh after mistaking her for a militant.
Israel said it would not cooperate with any external
probe into Abu Akleh’s death.
“No one will investigate (Israeli) soldiers and no
one will preach to us about morals in warfare, certainly not Al Jazeera,”
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement.
‘Complete cover-up’
The veteran reporter was wearing a bulletproof vest marked “Press” and a
helmet when an Israeli soldier shot her in the head in the Jenin refugee camp,
a historic flashpoint for Israeli violence.
Her niece, Lina
Abu Akleh, urged the ICC to investigate the journalist’s death.
“The evidence is
overwhelmingly clear, we expect the ICC to take action,” she told a press
conference in The Hague, adding that they had asked for a meeting with prosecutor
Karim Khan.
“My family still
doesn’t know who fired that deadly bullet and who was in the chain of command
that killed my aunt.”
Lawyer Rodney
Dixon said there had been a “complete cover-up” by Israel over Abu Akleh’s
death.
He alleged that
her killing was part of a “systematic and widespread campaign” against Al
Jazeera by Israel that also included the bombing of a Gaza building housing Al
Jazeera’s office last year.
“There’s a clear
attempt to shut Al Jazeera down and silence it.” Dixon told the press
conference.
“We are hopeful
that there will now be justice for Shireen.”
Dixon said they
had not yet had a formal meeting with the prosecutor’s office but had handed
over evidence including some on memory sticks to the ICC’s evidence unit.
After receiving
complaints from individuals or groups, the ICC prosecutor decides independently
what cases to submit to judges at the court.
Judges decide
whether to allow a preliminary investigation by the prosecutor, which can then
be followed by a formal investigation, and if warranted, charges.
In most cases such
complaints do not lead to investigations, according to the ICC.
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