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Protesters outside the Brussels court show posters of their relatives who died in terrorist attacks. (AP)
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| By Ellis Shuman November 28, 2001 |
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A Brussels court today postponed until January its decision whether Prime Minister Ariel Sharon can be tried in Belgium for alleged crimes against humanity for his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacres in 1982. Yesterday representatives of the Terror Victims Association of Israel filed a suit charging Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat with genocide, murder, and crimes against humanity.
Spokesman Guy Delvoie announced at the end of Wednesday's hearing that the Belgian court would "likely see a decision at the end of January." Public prosecutor Pierre Morlet argued earlier that Belgian courts did have jurisdiction to take on such a case despite the objections of Sharon's legal defense.
Sharon's lawyer, Adrien Masset, argued that Belgium has no authority to try the Prime Minister. Among the arguments that Masset reportedly employed when he faced the three justices of the Belgian appeals court panel were:
 Immunity - Sharon is entitled to diplomatic immunity due to his position as an acting head of state. This argument was supported by citing Belgian law, which grants Belgian leaders similar immunity.
Israel's legal authority - Israel has already heard the case against Sharon when the Kahan Commission issued its rulings in 1983, finding that then-Defense Minister Sharon bore indirect but personal responsibility for the massacres.
Belgium has no status - The plaintiffs in the case and the defendant are not Belgian, and the alleged crimes did not take place in Belgium.
In September, Belgian examining magistrate Patrick Collignon accepted the arguments of attorney Michele Hirsch, hired by the State of Israel to defend Sharon, and ruled that Belgium did not have the jurisdiction to try Sharon. But pressure from the Belgian prosecutors' office resulted in an appeal being lodged in the Brussels court.
A senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that the real purpose of the case against Sharon is not to provide justice for the victims of the massacres, but rather to attack Israel. The district attorney could have accepted Collignon's conclusion, but decided to pursue the case due to "political considerations," the source said.
The case against Sharon arose from a Belgian law, passed in 1993, which permits Belgian courts to try cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide, regardless of where they took place or the nationality or residence of either the victims or the accused.
Two lawsuits were filed against Sharon, charging him with responsibility for the refugees' deaths in the camps and with crimes against humanity and war crimes. Belgium's refusal to dismiss the charges severely strained its relations with Israel.
Israel is attaching great importance to the case against Sharon, Maariv reported. A high-level legal team went to Brussels, including Irit Kahan, head of the international department in the Ministry of Justice, and Danny Shek, head of the European department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also involved in Israel's legal efforts is Ambassador to Belgium Shaul Amor. Sources in Israel believe that a decision to press charges against Sharon could lead to "a serious crisis" between Israel and Belgium.
Victims of Palestinian terrorism demand justice
On Tuesday a lawsuit organized by the Terror Victims Association of Israel was filed in Belgian court charging Arafat and various Palestinian organizations with crimes against humanity. The suit contains personal claims against Arafat, Tanzim chief Marwan Barghouti and Palestinian preventative security heads Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan.
"The complaint is against Arafat and many organizations like the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian police and the PLO,'' one of the lawyers, Yves Oshinski, told Reuters.
"We have come from Israel to demand justice for the victims of the 30-year career of Yasser Arafat,'' said Meir Indor, head of the Terror Victims' Association.
The plaintiffs in the case, victims or families of the victims of Palestinian terrorism, include National Religious Party head Yitzhak Levy, whose daughter was killed in a Jerusalem bombing, and Yitzhak Pass, resident of Hebron whose infant daughter was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper.
Additional plaintiffs include families of the victims of the Dolphinarium and Sbarro bombings. Two are Belgians whose family members died as a result of Palestinian terrorism. Oshinski said the complaint cites attacks dating back to 1974.
About 100 supporters of the Israeli group, many of them Belgian Jews, gathered Tuesday in front of the Palace of Justice courthouse in Brussels waving banners which read "Belgians and Israelis against terrorism.'' At a press conference outside, Indor declared that the suit gives the international community a chance to put Arafat where he rightfully belongs -- "in prison for mass murder, and not in the parlors of Europe, receiving prizes for peace."
Palestinian representatives in Brussels charged that the Israeli complaint was politically motivated. The charge was denied by William Goldnadel, one of the plaintiff's lawyers. He said, "There is no connection between the case against Arafat and the case against Sharon."
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