>>Jews Sue Arafat in Paris Court Over Israel Attacks
Mon March 3, 2003 03:58 PM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - Relatives of Jewish victims of
attacks in Israel have filed a complaint in a Paris court against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, accusing him of crimes including genocide, a judicial official said on Monday.
The seven Jewish plaintiffs, who are French but live in Israel, accuse Arafat of masterminding attacks against Jews to back Palestinian demands for an independent state.
The complaint accuses the Palestinian leader of genocide, crimes against humanity, murder and criminal conspiracy, the official said. The plaintiffs have asked to remain anonymous.
All are relatives of victims of a wave of attacks, including suicide bombings, committed in Israel since the start of a Palestinian uprising in September 2000.
At least 1,888 Palestinians and 706 Israelis have been killed since the intifada began.
Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat, who rejected the accusations, and said the complaint was "politically motivated."
"It is a smear campaign against the image of the Palestinian leader as a man of peace," Erekat told Reuters. "These accusations are baseless."
A judge will be designated automatically to determine whether the complaint can be pursued legally.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said that as Jews, they considered themselves victims of "a concerted plan aimed at the partial destruction of a racial or religious group, which constitutes a genocide."
They allege the plan was hatched by the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Fatah and other groups suspected of having links with Arafat, such as the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The suit is one of a handful filed against foreign leaders in French courts. Under French law, heads of state enjoy immunity from prosecution as long as they are in power.
Arafat was elected Palestinian Authority president in West Bank and Gaza elections in 1996.
But lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Arafat was not legally head of state and would therefore not be covered by the law on immunity, the judiciary official said.<<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=MHRK3SIAJBCVUCRBAELCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=2318591 |
