War on Gaza: Lawsuit against ICC prosecutor filed in Tunisian courts

Lawyer in the Court of Cassation, Adnène Limam, has announced the filing of a lawsuit in Tunisian courts against the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, who 'has remained inactive and has not reacted as he should to the crime of genocide committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.' The complaint was lodged under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, the first paragraph of which states that the Prosecutor may open an investigation on his own initiative on the basis of information concerning crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, he told a press conference at the headquarters of the journalists' union in Tunis on Tuesday. The lawyer said he had filed the complaint on behalf of the Tunisian Association for the Defence of Children's Rights, civil society activist Aïda Ben ChaSbane and journalist Moufida Abbassi, among others. He regretted that the ICC had previously intervened in conflicts less serious than the atrocities committed against Palestinian s in Gaza. The lawyer also called on the Tunisian judiciary to open a judicial investigation as soon as possible in order to put pressure on international actors, including the ICC, which remains "passive" in the face of one of the worst crimes against humanity of the 21st century. The press conference was attended by the President of the SNJT, Zied Dabbar, Palestinian ambassador to Tunisia, Hayel al Fahoum, and President of the Tunisian Association for the Defence of Children's Rights, Moez Chérif. The president of the SNJT said the atrocities committed by the Zionist entity against journalists in Gaza were unprecedented, recalling that 1,280 journalists had been forced to leave the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian ambassador described Tunisia as an important moral reference point for many countries in the world, especially through its official positions and those of its people, which are constant and unwavering when it comes to defending the rights of the Palestinians. Fahoum said it is important to work to expose the crimes of the Zionist entity by sharing images that are more faithful to the reality of the inhuman violations committed in Palestine. The Rome Statute establishing the ICC was adopted by 120 states on July 17, 1998. For the first time in the history of mankind, states decided to accept the jurisdiction of a permanent international criminal court, responsible for prosecuting the most serious crimes committed on their territory or by their nationals, from the entry into force of the Rome Statute on July 1, 2002. According to the Preamble of the Rome Statute, the primary purpose of the International Criminal Court is to contribute to the prevention of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole by helping to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of such crimes. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse