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Sharon to be Tried for Crimes Against Humanity
BRUSSELS, Oct 2 (News Agencies) - Monday's edition of the London-based
Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the Belgian Prosecutor's Office has decided to accuse Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of committing war crimes against Palestinian civilians.
The accusation pertains to Sharon's involvement in the 1982 massacre of at least 2,000 Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon.
This development came months after 28 survivors of the massacres decided to sue Sharon for his role in the carnage, the Palestine Media Center (PMC) reported.
"The accusation included committing genocide against Palestinian civilians. This means that the Belgian investigative judge in charge of the case has accepted to endorse our accusation," Shebly Al-Malat, the survivors' attorney, told
Al-Hayat.
He added, "It's the first time in which a high Western official judicial board accuses Sharon of committing war crimes and genocide against Palestinian civilians."
The Belgian investigative judge said that according to Belgian law, Sharon does not have any immunity whatsoever.
The judge also ruled that the Israeli Kahan Committee, formed in 1983 to investigate the Sabra and Shatila massacres, was not a trial. Consequently, he decided to proceed with the case, the PMC reported.
The Belgian Prosecutors Office's step is expected to create a heated debate over whether Sharon should or should not attend the trial, which is scheduled to commence Wednesday, the agency went on to say.
Sharon does not recognize the court's right to investigate the case. However, the Israeli government has appointed a defense attorney to handle the case.
A statement issued by the European Arab League (AEL), outlines the Belgian Attorney General's (AG) office rejection of Israel's lawyer in Sharon's case.
The AG's office declared the following:
1. All the arguments that have been advanced by Sharon's lawyer are groundless.
2. Belgian justice and Belgian courts are definitely competent to deal with the case against Ariel Sharon and others.
3. The complaint against Sharon for crimes against humanity and war crimes is grounded.
"The Arab European League considers these declarations as a determining moment in this process and expects the court of appeal to follow the opinion of the attorney general in this as it is accordingly to Belgian law," read their statement.
"The Attorney General has totally adopted the position of AEL and of the civil parties in this case and by doing so paved the way to an acceptance by the court of appeal of the same position. When this becomes a fact, it will be a great victory for justice and democracy in Belgium."
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