send your signature or collect signatures of personalities and associations and send them to : 0000am>info@xxxxxxxxxx <am> Court case against General Franks in Brussels I sign: Times New Romanr> In the name of my organisation</underlineOrganisation : &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&. Email : &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& On my own behalf: Name: &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Function: &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&.. Email : &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& This appeal is coordinated by STOP USA International 53 Chaussée de Haecht, 1210 Brussels. info@xxxxxxxxxx Access to the documentation (CD-Rom), the plaintiffs, and the international team of lawyers can be obtained through: info@xxxxxxxxxx Telephone: (+32) 499 / 40 93 17 T
No impunity for war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq
<smallerler> Twenty victims of war crimes committed by U.S. troops during the recent war against Iraq are filing charges before the federal prosecutor of Belgium for violations of International Humanitarian Law. The complaint is directed against soldiers who are not identified at this stage who have committed war crimes. It mentions General Tommy Franks in particular for ordering war crimes and for not preventing others from committing them or for providing protection to the perpetrators. The plaintiffs have been seriously injured or have lost relatives as the result of: - the use of cluster bombs - attacks on the civilian population includingjournalists - acts of aggression against health services and other Iraqi infrastructure - looting protected by or under orders from the U.S. army. The plaintiffs and their relatives likewise have reason to fear the devastating effects of depleted uranium munitions used by the U.S. army. Their effects have already been highlighted in the previous wars against Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Millions of demonstrators throughout the world have voiced their opposition to the war on Iraq. Opinion polls showed that everywhere, between 70 and 80% of the population condemned this war of aggression. In defiance of the people's will, the Bush administration violated international law by attacking Iraq without the permission of the Security Council and refusing to respect the ban on the use of force included in the UN Charter. In the field, U.S. troops also committed many war crimes, as attested by many sources. The plaintiffs dement inquiry to identify those responsible for the war crimes of which they were victims. They are also asking for those guilty to be brought to justice. The complaint was filed in Brussels on the basis of the Belgian law on "universal jurisdiction" as amended on May 7, 2003. The law, as amended, gives the Belgian government the option of filing a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or forwarding it to the country of origin of the accused. The United States, however, has not ratified the Statutes of the ICC, thus rendering a transfer to this court impossible. As for referring the case to the courts of the country of origin, the law demands that the latter afford guarantees of impartiality. That is not the case with American lawcourts for the moment for a number of reasons:
Assoon as the possibility of was announced, the spokespersonof the State Department demanded demanded the intervention of the Belgiangovernment to prevent the judiciary from investigating the case. </parainde