Statement of the Lawyers for the Suvivors of Sabra and Shatila in reaction to the Belgian Justice Ministry's decision to start the procedure of transferring the case to Israel

(Brussels and Beirut, 15 June 2003) -- The Belgian Ministry of Justice announced on Friday 13 June that it had started the procedure to transfer the Sabra and Shatila case to Israel. This comes as the result of an unfortunate reaction to persistent pressures exerted by the Israeli government.

Pressures have increased notably since the Supreme Court of Belgium consecrated on 12 February 2003 the Sabra and Shatila survivors' right to be heard in Beligum, a decision which was confirmed on remand by the Indictment Chamber of the Court of Appeals on Tuesday 10 June, after being repeatedly endorsed by the offices of the Belgian Prosecutor and Prosecutor- General.

Considering the complications resulting from this constant political interference -- despite the clear decision of the Belgian courts -- and the attempts by Mssrs. Ariel Sharon and Amos Yaron over the past two years to bury the case in the face of repeated judicial defeats, we need to clarify to our clients and the public at large that the course of justice continues unimpeded in accordance with their higher expectations.

When investigation was engaged, before the highly contested interpretative law modifying the 1993 and 1999 anti-atrocity legislation went into force, the government could only decide upon referral of the case after seeking the opinion of the Court of Appeal on the viability of such a measure. The final decision to withdraw a case from the Belgian judiciary in favour of a more convenient forum belongs to Belgium's Supreme Court (Cour du Cassation). In terms of procedure, this decision sends the case back to the Prosecutor- General and the Court of Appeals, which must now consider whether the plaintiffs can demand and receive a fair trial in Israel.

We shall now argue the obvious impossibility of this proposal with the Prosecutor-General and the Court of Appeals, as the trial in Belgium would never have been necessary in the first place if justice were to be done in Israel. It is an undeniable fact that, despite the clear dispositions of international law, Palestinians living in forced exile since 1948 have never been allowed any access to Israel, let alone any access to justice in Israel for a crime against humanity under the supervision of high Israeli officials, past and present.

While the political intervention is blatant and gross, we shall continue to seek all available judicial recourse before the Court of Appeals in Belgium and beyond. We are confident that the choice made by the Sabra and Shatila survivors to seek a non-violent course of action will prevail in accordance with the decision of Belgium's highest courts.

Meanwhile the Sabra and Shatila investigation continues before the judge of instruction in Brussels.

Luc Walleyn, Michael Verhaeghe, Chibli Mallat
Brissels and Beirut, 15 June 2003.

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