WTI Demands Bush And Blaýr Indýctment At ICC

World Trýbunal On Iraq Demands Bush And Blaýr Indýctment At Internatýonal Crýmýnal Court

1 August 2005, Istanbul, Turkey – The Final Statement by the Jury of Conscience of the World Tribunal on Iraq calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict, prosecute, and punish the perpetrators and collaborators for the aggression against Iraq and the related international crimes arising from the subsequent occupation of the country. The statement lists the violations in international law committed during and after this war and also provides recommendations for the prevention of future illegal and illegitimate action.

The Statement relies upon the extensive testimony given in written and oral form by international law experts during the Culminating Session of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) in Istanbul between 23-27 June 2005. It also reflects the testimony and submissions on related issues of war crimes and the failure of the United Nations to protect Iraq against aggression.

The Chair of the Jury of Consience in Istanbul, Arundhati Roy, said in India “We, the Jury of Conscience, hope that the scope and specificity of these recommendations will lay the groundwork for a world whose future cannot be shaped by multi-national corporations and Heads of State in violation of the explicit and stated will of the people they claim to represent, where journalists and intellectuals will not remain mute, where human security will prevail over the drive for political, economic and cultural hegemony, the insatiable greed of the military-industrial complex and the quest for corporate profit.”

In the Istanbul session, members of the Jury of Conscience from 10 different countries heard the testimonies of 54 members comprising the Panel of Advocates who came from across the world, including Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom. The session in Istanbul was the culminating session of commissions of inquiry and hearings held around the world over the past two years (1).

For more information and the full text of the Jury Statement please visit www.worldtribunal.org
Or contact Tolga Temuge, international media co-ordinator, tolga.temuge@worldtribunal.org

Notes:
1. Sessions on different topics related to the war on Iraq were held in Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Hiroshima, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Mumbai, New York, Östersund, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Tunis, various cities in Japan and Germany.

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