The lawyer who filed a war crimes complaint against the commander of U.S.-led forces in Iraq said Wednesday he will appeal a government decision to refer the case to the United States.
The Belgian government late Tuesday, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, used a recently approved amendment to Belgium's universal jurisdiction law that allows a case to be sent to the country of the accused if it has a democratic and fair legal system.
Attorney Jan Fermon, who represents 19 civilians wounded or bereaved in the Iraq war, stated the case could not be handled fairly by the U.S. legal system since Washington had already taken such a clear stance in defense of U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks.
"It is evidence that there is no guarantee of (legal) independence," said Fermon, according to AP.
The lawsuit alleges that US troops in Iraq fired on ambulances, did not show due care in avoiding civilian casualties and failed to safeguard Iraq's cultural heritage. The United States decried it as "ludicrous" and demanded that the Belgian government move to dismiss the case. (Albawaba.com)
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