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Belgium Suspends Investigations of Civil Case Against Sharon
BRUSSELS, Sept 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The investigation of a civil suit accusing hardline Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of war crimes in the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres of Palestinians in Lebanon has been suspended, allegedly to allow a court to decide whether it was being carried out properly, news agencies reported.
Two lawsuits are pending against Sharon accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the massacres at the Palestinian refugee camps. The victims of the massacres and their families filed the procedures last June.
Suspension of the investigation was in response to a motion by Michele Hirsch, a Belgian lawyer hired by the Israeli government to represent the 73-year-old hawkish prime minister, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
She claimed in July that Belgian investigations of Sharon "violate the judicial sovereignty of … Israel," and that the investigating magistrate allegedly has no authority in the matter.
"The court is considering whether or not this case is relevant," Hirsch said.
Patrick Collignon, the investigating magistrate appointed to prepare a possible case against Sharon, ruled in July that his office was competent to investigate the cases.
The cases against Sharon were brought under a 1993 Belgian law, which stipulates that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, can be tried in Belgian courts, regardless of where they took place or the nationality or residence of either the victims or the accused.
The two lawsuits against Sharon state that he, as Israeli defense minister at the time, was responsible for the brutal massacres of up to 1,500 Palestinians at Sabra and Shatila, following Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
The first suit, charging him with responsibility for the deaths, was lodged by an ad hoc group of Palestinian, Lebanese, Moroccan and Belgian nationals.
Twenty-three survivors of the massacres, as well as five eyewitnesses, filed a second suit, accusing Sharon of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.
The slaughter was carried out by Israeli-backed Christian militiamen at the camps, located in an area which at the time was controlled by the Israeli occupation military.
Sharon was forced to resign as defense minister after an Israeli investigation in 1983 found him indirectly, but "personally", responsible for the deaths.
If the Belgian judge decides to press charges, Sharon could technically be arrested if he enters Belgium.
In July, Israel's foreign ministry warned former army and security officials to avoid countries where they could find themselves in "embarrassing" situations, Israeli public radio reported.
The warning came amid reports that Israel is studying criminal laws across Europe to see which nations are most likely to launch human rights trials, AFP reported.
The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported that foreign ministry experts were scrutinizing legal code across the European continent to see where Israelis would potentially be most susceptible to prosecution, focusing on Spain and Britain as well.
Israeli Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker said the ministry is drawing up a list of countries with "universal jurisdiction" in order "to know where [they] stand," the Israeli daily
Jerusalem Post said.
Israeli government officials are concerned that the lawsuit could spawn attempts to bring war crimes charges against the chief of staff of Israel's armed forces, Shaul Mofaz; the commander of the air force, Dan Hilutz; and other military officials, over the present conflict with the Palestinians, said the Israeli paper.
Israelis were amongst the first to support the concept of "universal jurisdiction" for genocide and war crimes, now adopted by the Belgians. They used it to put Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi leader, on trial in Israel in 1961. He was later hanged.
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