Greek lawyers initiate case before International Criminal Court
Monday, 28 July 2003 - according to a BBC report, top Greek lawyers are travelling to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to file a lawsuit against senior UK officials, charging that by initiating the war against Iraq the British government acted in breach of international treaties such as the Charter of the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions and the ICC's statute.
The Greek action comes less than two months after a similar complaint for war crimes and genocide lodged by Dr. Matthias Rath and others. The complaint alleges that multinational pharmaceutical and petrochemical corporations and world financial interests helped Bush and Blair into office and were actively pushing for the Iraq war in an effort to further their own interests.
Rath charges that these corporations are committing genocide through their business with disease, which he says is responsible for millions of untimely deaths through imposing the use of ineffective and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and through the contemporary suppression of natural health alternatives as "unscientific" and "unsafe".
By Richard Galpin
BBC Athens correspondentTop lawyers from Greece are travelling to the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Monday to file a lawsuit against senior UK officials.
They will accuse the prime minister and other senior members of the government and military of breaching international law by attacking Iraq.
The Athens Bar Association (ABA) believes it has strong evidence and is seeking the indictment of Mr Blair.
The ABA will file the lawsuit with the prosecutor of the ICC who will then have to decide whether it merits further investigation.
The court was established to try cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Among those named in the lawsuit are Mr Blair, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
The Greek lawyers announced in May they would try to take legal action against the British Government and military.
They said the war in Iraq breached international treaties such as the Charter of the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions and the ICC's own Statute.
But the British Government has always argued that the invasion of Iraq was in accordance with international law.
See also:
UK aid funds Iraqi torture units
Peter Beaumont in Baghdad and Martin Bright
Sunday July 3, 2005 - Observer
British and American aid intended for Iraq's hard-pressed police service is being diverted to paramilitary commando units accused of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and extra-judicial killings, The Observer can reveal.
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Monday July 28 2003
updated on Wednesday October 5 2005URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/07/28/greek_lawyers_initiate_case_before_international_criminal_court.htm
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