Belgium prosecutor defends case against Sharon
Israel-Belgium, Politics, 11/30/2001

Palestinians accusing Ariel Sharon of crimes against humanity got a boost yesterday from a Belgian prosecutor who insisted they had a legal right to take the Israeli leader to court over a 1982 massacre.

In the first day of hearings before a Brussels appeals court, Public Prosecutor Pierre Morlet dismissed arguments by Sharon's lawyers that international law constrained the universal jurisdiction Belgian law gives the country's courts to hear cases of crimes against humanity.

"International law does not impose any limits," Morlet told Reuters after giving his position before a three-judge panel at a closed-door hearing.

A hearing is scheduled each of the next two months and a ruling on whether the case can go ahead is expected in February.

A group of 28 Palestinians are suing the Israeli prime minister for his role in a massacre at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps near Israeli-occupied Beirut in 1982.

An Israeli inquiry in 1983 found Sharon, a former general, indirectly responsible for the massacre, forcing him to resign as Defence Minister over the affair.

The appeals court was hearing a bid by lawyers for the 73-year-old Sharon to contest the jurisdiction of a Belgian court to hear the case.

Sharon's lawyers dispute any lifting of his diplomatic immunity. "We feel the process is hurting the sovereignty of the State of Israel," Irit Kahn, director of the International Department in Israel's Justice Ministry, told a news conference, an Egyptian report said.

Previous Stories:
  More documents prove Sharon's involvement in Sabra, Chatilla massacres   (11/29/2001)
  New cases filed against Sharon in Brussels   (11/24/2001)
  Sharon to be brought before the Belgian judiciary   (11/20/2001)

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