Flotilla victims' families to International Criminal Court: Prosecute Israel

Flotilla victims' families to International Criminal Court: Prosecute Israel
Turkish lawyers petition the ICC to examine IDF 'war crimes' during clashes 
aboard Turkish aid ship Mavi Marmara, which resulted in 9 dead, on May 31.
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Gaza flotilla Mavi Marmara United Nations Israel news
The families of the victims of the May 31 clashes aboard the Turkish Gaza-bound 
aid ship Mavi Marmara have petition the International Criminal Court in Hague to 
prosecute Israeli soldiers, the Guardian reported Friday.
Israeli navy commandos killed nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, 
one of several ships taking part in a Turkish-backed aid flotilla aiming to 
violate Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Dozens of activists, as well 
as Israeli troops, were injured during the clashes.
 International fact-finding mission reporting to the United Nations on its 
findings about the Gaza flotilla, September 28, 2010. 

Photo by: AP 
Lawyers representing the Turkish activists wrote to the world criminal court 
that they have definitive evidence of Israeli crimes, as well as professional 
opinions composed by internationally acclaimed legal experts. 
"The attack on the flotilla occurred in international waters, which directly 
violated many parts of international law as well as international public and 
criminal law," said Ramazan Ariturk, a partner at Elmadag Law Office, the 
Turkish legal body that is representing the Turkish victims and the human rights 
group IHH. "The crimes committed by the Israel Defense Forces must be prosecuted 
and the International Criminal Court is the sole authority which is able to do 
that."
The Turkish lawyers wrote that it was within the jurisdiction of the 
international court to prosecute those responsible for the flotilla incident, 
even though Israel and the Palestinian Authority do not recognize the court's 
authority.
The lawyers argue that the fact that Turkey was involved in the incident and 
that the Mavi Marmara sailed under a Comoro Islands flag grant the court the 
jurisdiction to investigate the incident, since those states are themselves 
signatories of the Rome Statute, which established the court.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted the conclusions arrived at 
by the committee that it appointed to investigate the events surrounding the 
flotilla. Thirty nations voted to accept the conclusions of the report, fifteen 
states abstained, and the United States opposed.
According to the UN report, Israel violated international law and the human 
rights of the activists on board the ship when they took over the Mavi Marmara.
The Human Rights Commission concluded that Israel's siege on Gaza is illegal 
because of the humanitarian crisis for Gaza residents and called  the IDF attack 
on the flotilla "brutal and disproportionate."