Belgian Prosecutor May Send Franks Case to U.S.

Reuters ^ | May 16 2003

[knighthawk]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Brussels prosecutor will probably pass a war crimes lawsuit against General Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, on to the United States, a judicial official said on Friday.

An official decision on the case -- filed under Belgium's controversial law enabling its courts to try foreigners for human rights abuses -- is expected next week.

"The option we prefer is to send the case to the international tribunal (International Criminal Court) in The Hague but the Americans don't accept its jurisdiction," said Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office.

"The judicial system in Iraq is excluded right now, so an American court seems to be the best option," she told Reuters.

U.S. embassy officials declined to comment.

A legal decision to pass the suit on to the United States would help heal Belgium's relations with Washington, damaged by Belgium's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and its obstruction of NATO's pre-war efforts to boost Turkish defenses.

"The law is clear: if the country of the perpetrator has a legal system that offers a guarantee to handle the complaint properly then we can forward the file," Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt was quoted as saying in Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.

"You can hardly claim that the U.S. does not have a balanced judicial system," he added.

A group of 19 Iraqis filed the complaint against Franks and a U.S. Marine colonel on Wednesday, over the use of cluster bombs and alleged U.S. attacks on ambulances and civilians.

Belgium's law has prompted a flood of cases against figures like Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and was recently revamped in an attempt to deter what critics say are politically motivated cases.

Pellens said a welter of similar lawsuits, against figures including Secretary of State Colin Powell and former U.S. President George Bush, had clogged up the judiciary.

"We notice that some of our best investigating magistrates do only these cases and nothing else. It's using up a lot of our capacities," she added.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[dirtboy]

The law is clear: if the country of the perpetrator has a legal system that offers a guarantee to handle the complaint properly then we can forward the file

Oh, we've got the means to handle this complaint properly, all right:

[jpl]

When we conservative neanderthals voiced our opposition to the International Criminal Court on the basis that someone exactly like this could happen, we were roundly mocked and ridiculed. It didn't take very long for some whacko in Belgium to prove that, once again, we were right.

[jpl]

something, not "someone".

[Dog Gone]

Hmmm, I guess Belgium looked at what happened to French exports and decided they had better export this suit immediately.

[xJones]

U.S. embassy officials declined to comment.

That must have taken an enormous amount of self-control. When the Belgians get their own house in order, then they can lecture to others.

[marron]

Where were the Belgians when Saddam killed a quarter million Iraqis?

Had they served him with an indictment, perhaps he would have changed his course, do you suppose? Does that mean that the failure to properly indict and prosecute Saddam puts the blame for genocide squarely on Belgium's broad shoulders?

Just thinking about sending someone to serve the arrest warrant reminds me of the old "bell and the cat" story. All the mice agree that they would be safer if they hung a bell on the cat, so they could hear him coming. But then the old mouse raises the question: Fine, we know now what to do. Now, who is going to hang the bell on the cat?

The answer is that it would never be a Belgian. If you want to hang a bell on a cat, you send someone like Tommy Franks. And step back out of the way, and "forward the file" to the nearest wastepaper basket. There are jobs in the world that require adult attention, teenagers need not apply.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Tell the Belgians to print the war crime lawsuit on soft, two ply paper and ship it on 4 1/2 inch rolls to the US Army in Iraq. Thanks !

[Grand Old Partisan]

If Belguim can try non-Belgians for alleged crimes committed by foreigners outside their country, why can't the United States tax foreigners living abroad?

[Mark17]

A legal decision to pass the suit on to the United States would help heal Belgium's relations with Washington

Not a snow balls chance will that happen.

[You Dirty Rats]

It wasn't even a whacko. This is their law, approved by their legislature and enforced by prosecutors and courts.

We need somebody to file a complaint in Belgium against Jacques Chiraq for his multiple violations of the law as President. It can't be claimed France has a functioning legal system, since they exempt the President from prosecution. Let's see how France reacts when reactor-boy gets charges files against him in Brussels.

That will end this "law" very quickly! France has a horrible record at winning wars, but even they wouldn't have any trouble with the Belgians.

[Defiant]

Maybe we can sanction the lawyer who filed it. How does a stint in Guantanamo sound?

[Cicero]

A legal decision to pass the suit on to the United States would help heal Belgium's relations with Washington.

The only thing that would help relations with Washington in regard to this nonsense would be to drop the whole hypocritical pretence that Belgium has any right to try people for crimes committed outside its jurisdiction.

If the U.S. courts even pretend to take this case in order to drop it they deserve criticism. We should not spend a dime of taxpayer money on this nonsense.

Meantime, Belgium has much else to answer for. They are as treacherous as the French.

[DoctorMichael]

When we conservative neanderthals voiced our opposition to the International Criminal Court on the basis that someone exactly like this could happen, we were roundly mocked and ridiculed. It didn't take very long for some whacko in Belgium to prove that, once again, we were right.

Bump.

[Guillermo]

Who on the Right supported the ICC??

[monkeywrench]

You don't think the left would use this to put the screws to the President? It sounds like the international left is gearing up for another shot at the Pres.

I don't see how they believe he'd be tried in a fed. court, however. Doesn't military try their own?

[jpl]

Who on the Right supported the ICC??

Nobody that I am aware of. The leftists were the ones that were trying to claim that we were paranoid and nothing like this would ever happen.

[knighthawk]

About half of Belgium speaks French, and behave like French too!