A London-based legal organization will be hosting on Friday an international press conference on a complaint lodged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the killing of iconic Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJS) said in a press statement that it will be hosting the conference to provide a crucial update about a complaint lodged with the International Criminal Court in April 2022 regarding the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces.
The complaint details the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists on behalf of four named victims – Ahmed Abu Hussein, Yaser Murtaja, Muath Amarneh and Nedal Eshtayeh – who were killed or maimed by Israeli snipers while covering demonstrations in Gaza. All were wearing clearly marked PRESS vests at the time they were shot. The complaint also details the targeting of media and bombing of the Al-Shorouk and Al-Jawhara Towers in Gaza City in May 2021.
On 11 May 2022, just days after the ICC prosecutor acknowledged receipt of the complaint, Palestinian American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot in the occupied West Bank. A long-time TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, Shireen was killed while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin. There are strong grounds to believe that Shireen was shot by Israeli armed forces. Her case joins a long list of journalists targeted by the Israeli armed forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Exclusively, Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Walid Al-Omari, will join key speakers from Doughty Street Chambers and Bindmans LLP along with speakers from the International Federation of Journalists, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the ICJP to present key parts of the complaint lodged in April and to provide an important update on the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.
ICJP Director Tayab Ali commented: “A free press is the cornerstone of a democracy. The targeting of journalists in conflict zones anywhere in the world is unacceptable and must bring severe consequences for those that try to hide their crimes and violations by killing or maiming journalists.”
“On 5 February 2021, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber accepted that it has jurisdiction over the situation in Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem. We are confident that the ICC will investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes alleged in our complaint,” he added.
“There could not be a more important time than now for the ICC and international community to send a clear signal to states that further their own interests through war crimes, that they will not have impunity, but will instead be swiftly held to account for their violations.”
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)