For: Immediate Release

Date: 22 June 2001

Title: CASE OPENED AGAINST A HEAD OF STATE FOR WAR CRIMES
Only 225 words about this reach the US media

Contact: Chibli Mallat, Mallat Law Offices, Etude Mallat,
Mathaf Building, Damascus Road, near National Museum, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel/fax: +961-1-612683, +961-1-424812, +961-1-615918
E-mail: cmallat@... Web: http://www.mallat.com/


On Sunday 17 June, 2001, the BBC's award-winning investigative news
programme, Panorama, broadcast a documentary titled "The Accused"
that looked at the role of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
Israel's then-Phalangist allies in the 1982 massacres of Palestinian
and Lebanese men, women, and children at the Sabra and Shatila
refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut.

According to Richard Falk, a professor of International Law at
Princeton University interviewed for the documentary, "Sharon's
specific command responsibility arises from the fact that he was
Minister of Defence in touch with the field commanders, that he
actually was present there in Beirut, that he met with the Phalange
leadership and it was he that gave the directions and orders that
resulted in the Phalange entering the camps in September."

At one point the Panorama reporter, Fergal Keane, asked Morris
Draper, US Special Envoy to the Middle East in 1982, "When Ariel
Sharon says, and other senior Israeli officers, that they couldn't
possibly have predicted what might have happened..." to which Draper
responded, "Complete and utter nonsense."

Judge Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor at the UN War Crime
Tribunals in 1994-1996, commented in the documentary that, "if the
person who gave the command knows, or should know, [based] on the
facts available to him or her, that [there] is a situation where
innocent civilians are going to be injured or killed, then that
person is as responsible -- in fact in my book more responsible --
even than the people who carry out the order."

Later in the documentary, US Special Envoy Draper recounted the
message he sent to Sharon during the massacre:

"You must stop the acts of slaughter, they are horrifying. I have a
representative in the camp counting the bodies. You should be
ashamed. The situation is absolutely appalling. They're killing
children! You have the field completely under your control and are
therefore responsible for that area."

When asked by the Panorama reporter if Draper had "no doubt since
then or at that time that Ariel Sharon was responsible?", Draper
replied, "No doubt whatsoever. Well of course more Israelis have to
share in that responsibility, but absolutely."

The documentary concluded that there was sufficient grounds to indict
Ariel Sharon for war crimes.

The full transcript of "The Accused" can be read and the programme
can be viewed online via Real Video at http://www.bbc.co.uk/panorama/
The programme will be retransmitted on the BBC World satellite
channel on 23 June at 0710 GMT & 2010 GMT, and on 24 June at 1510 GMT
& 1810 GMT.


On Monday 18 June, 2001, a historic event took place. The dossiers of
28 Palestinian and Lebanese survivors from the Sabra and Shatila
massacres were deposited before an investigative judge in Brussels.
The case has officially been opened against Ariel Sharon and any
other Israeli or Lebanese persons responsible for "war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide" (please see the press release below).

Since these two momentous events took place, the wire services, as
well as the British and Israeli media, have all reported this
dramatic story widely, as one would expect.

According to The Electronic Intifada [http://electronicIntifada.net],
a media monitoring project focused on reporting of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US media has written just 225 words
about this up to 21 June 2001:
http://electronicIntifada.net/actionitems/20010621.html

For more information about media coverage of the conflict, contact
The Electronic Intifada via e-mail at info@... or
on the Web at http://electronicIntifada.net

The Electronic Intifada's mailing list for journalists and editors is
a must-join for all those who want to be informed about breaking
issues in media coverage. Visit
http://electronicIntifada.net/forjournalists/ for more information
and to join the list.

[ends]


22 JUNE 2001 -- PRESS RELEASE

FROM CHIBLI MALLAT, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR
SABRA AND SHATILA SURVIVORS IN BEIRUT.

Contact: Chibli Mallat, Mallat Law Offices, Etude Mallat,
Mathaf Building, Damascus Road, near National Museum, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel/fax: +961-1-612683, +961-1-424812, +961-1-615918
E-mail: cmallat@... Web: http://www.mallat.com/

On June 18 2001, at 9:30 am, three lawyers filed before an
investigating judge (Madame le juge d'instruction Sophie Huguet), in
Brussels, Belgium, a complaint on behalf of of 28 plaintiffs and
witnesses, all survivors of the 1982 Sabra/Shatila massacres. With
this act, a case has been formally opened against Ariel Sharon, Prime
Minister of Israel, on counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide.

Under recent Belgian legislation, introduced in 1993 and modified in
1999, the possibility of bringing war criminals to account was
extended both in terms of citizenship and time. Using established
legal concepts of universal customary law, Belgian legislators have
set aside limitations of time, citizenship and status: foreign heads
of state can be held accountable for crimes committed before the
recent evolution of international law.

It is worth remembering that Israel invoked universal customary law
when it tried Eichman for war crimes, and this case, and that of
Demjanjuk in the US, and others, are cited at length in the complaint.
As Minister of Defence, Sharon planned and directed the 1982 invasion
of Lebanon. When Bashir Gemayel was assassinated on September 14, it
was Sharon who ordered the Israeli Army to penetrate West Beirut and
surround the Sabra/Shatila area. It was Sharon who gave the order for
the Lebanese militias to enter the camps. The complaint is filed
againt Ariel Sharon, Amos Yaron and any Israeli or Lebanese person
responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes that
happened between the 16th and 18th of September, including the
killing, torture, rape and "disappearance" of from 1000 to 3500
civilians - children and women as well as men, Lebanese as well as
Palestinians. The complaint is based on jus cogens, international and
Belgian law. The full text of the complaint (in French) can be read on
www.mallat.com

Even though the Kahan Commission judged Sharon "personally
responsible" for the massacre, no further legal actions arose from
this judgement. With Sharon's resignation from Defense, Israeli and
world public opinion soon forgot the massacre and its victims.

The 23 plaintiffs and 5 witnesses (the distinction is made for mere
procedural reasons under Belgian law) now accusing Sharon represent a
far larger number of people who have never been recognized as victims
nor indemnified for loss.

All the plaintiffs lost close family members, in some cases mother and
father as well as siblings. Reading their testimonials brings back the
horrific scale and character of a massacre that ranks among the worst
of the 20th century.

The plaintiffs are represented by three lawyers: Luc Walleyn, Michael
Verhaeghe, and Chibli Mallat. The day following the formal lodging of
the complaint, Patrick Collignon was formally appointed juge
d'instruction to carry out the enquiry. He will conduct the
proceedings, and the enquiry has officially started.

The Sabra and Shatila victims and survivors have had their first day
in court.

Chibli Mallat,
Beirut, June 22, 2001

[ends]


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