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Nov 9, 2011

The law case of the century: Indictment against NATO military and political leaders

The law case of the century: 
Indictment against NATO military and political leaders 

[Timothy Bancroft Hinchey http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/06-11-2011/119534-indictment_nato-0/]
NATO: Indictment for breach of international law in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The military and political leaders of NATO are hereby accused of the following crimes committed in the Libyan campaign of 2011, in which the systematic breaches of international law are underlined.
Understanding that international law exists and that it is systematically broken by certain powers with impunity, understanding that such a situation is unacceptable and that the same set of laws should apply to all, equally, with the same sets of weights and measures employed in upholding it, I hereby accuse NATO and the below-mentioned individuals, party to its acts in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from February to September (ongoing) 2011, of breach of international law;

1. Accusation: 
NATO war crimes, crimes against humanity, breach of UN Charter, Breach of UNSC Resolutions, breach of Geneva Conventions, occasioning murder, attempted murder, actions occasioning grievous and actual bodily harm, destruction of private and public property.

2. Accused:
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Denmark) NATO Secretary-General; Charles Bouchard (Canada), Commander of Operations; Nicolas Sarkozy, Édouard Guillaud (France); Rinaldo Veri, Commander Allied Maritime Command (Italy); David Cameron, Sir Stuart Peach (UK); Barack Obama, Carter Ham, Sam Locklear (USA); Harald Sunde (Norway), Abdullah II (Jordan); Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani (Qatar), Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan (UAE); Sverker Goranson (Sweden) and the Defence Ministers Pieter de Crem (Belgium), Anuy Angelov (Bulgaria), Gitte Lillelund Bech (Denmark); Panos Beglitis (Greece); Hans Hillen (Netherlands); Gabriel Oprea (Romania);Carme Chacón Piqueras (Spain); Ismet Yilmaz (Turkey), Liam Fox (UK), Ignazio La Russa (Italy), Gérard Longuet (France).
William Hague (UK), Hillary Clinton (USA) Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
(?)
3. Law and breaches:

3.1 Proper procedure was not followed: Under the UN Charter, any military action which comes outside a UNSC Resolution in any theatre of conflict must necessarily come from a separate Resolution in the UNSC and any military action must come after the Military Council is convened. This was not the case under UNSC Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011) covering the Libyan conflict.
Why did NATO not convene the Military Staff Committee of the UNSC? Under the UN Charter, Chapter VII, Article 46: "Plans for the application of armed force shall be made by the Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee". Such committee was never convened.

This is a violation of the UN Charter rendering Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011) void; There is also evidence that such Resolutions were passed on the evidence from a false flag event. The supposed crimes committed by the Libyan authorities have been hotly contested and must be investigated;

3.2 Intervention in domestic affairs of a sovereign state: UNSC Resolution 2131 (XX) of 21 December 1965, containing the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States was backed up by Resolutions 31/91 of 14 December 1976, 32/153 of 19 December 1977, 33/74 of 15 December 1978, 34/101 of 14 December 1979 and 35/159 of 12 December 1980 on non-interference in the internal affairs of States.

3.3 Bombardment of undefended buildings and structures: Article 3 of the Statute of The Hague International Penal Court which states clearly that one criterion for indictment for war crimes is:
"Attack or bombardment, by whatever means, against undefended cities, towns, villages, buildings or houses".

Another clause of the same Article 3 could also be invoked:

"Massive destruction of cities, towns or villages or destruction not justified by military necessity".

The attack on Libya's water supply network on Friday July 22 and the attack on the factory making pipes for the supply system on Saturday July 23 in al-Brega were not covered under "military necessity" in which case, under Article 3, this was an act of wanton destruction of civilian structures with military hardware. This renders NATO liable for trial by its own court, the ICC at The Hague;
3.4 Support for outlawed organizations and individuals. Despite this admission:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/counter-terrorism/
proscribed-terror-groups/proscribed-groups?view=Binary ...

There is evidence that armed groups fighting inside Libya include the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) which according to the British Government: "The LIFG seeks to replace the current Libyan regime with a hard-line Islamic state. The group is also part of the wider global Islamist extremist movement, as inspired by Al Qa'ida. The group has mounted several operations inside Libya, including a 1996 attempt to assassinate Mu'ammar Qadhafi" and for which reason is on the Home Office list of proscribed terrorist groups, despite this, the UK aided and abetted the said group;
3.5 Failure to apply international law: Under the UN Charter, Chapter VI, Article 33, member states must "seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice".

3.6 The Jamahiriya Government of Libya had the right to defend itself without being attacked: Chapter VII, Article 51 refers to the right of States to defend themselves against armed insurgency:

"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security";
3.7 Mercenaries: UNSC Resolution 1973 (2011), in its Chapter on Protection of Civilians, in paragraph 4. states:
"4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;

There have been numerous reports of mercenaries being used by NATO and the rebels it supported; French Foreign Legion, Egyptians, Qataris, UAE forces, among others;

3.8 Boots on the ground: UNSC Resolution 1970 (2011) Paragraph 16:
"16. Deplores the continuing flows of mercenaries into the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and calls upon all Member States to comply strictly with their obligations under paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011) to prevent the provision of armed mercenary personnel to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;".
If David Cameron has admitted that UK special services have assisted the terrorists on the ground, this is against the UN mandate which allowed NATO to intervene in Libya, and is a war crime.
 A request has been sent (August 30) to the British FCO and Ministry of Defence to confirm or deny that troops have been used in the theatre of operations; no reply has been forthcoming;

3.9 Non-enforcement of UN Resolution, and violation of international law, by transporting rebel forces to enter the theatre of operations:
UNSC Resolution 1970 (2011):
In the Chapter on Enforcement of the arms embargo, Paragraph 13 of the same states:
"13. Decides that paragraph 11 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall be replaced by the following paragraph : "Calls upon all Member States, in particular States of the region, acting nationally or through regional organisations or arrangements, in order to ensure strict implementation of the arms embargo established by paragraphs 9 and 10 of resolution 1970 (2011), to inspect in their territory, including seaports and airports, and on the high seas, vessels and aircraft bound to or from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, if the State concerned has information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo contains items the supply, sale, transfer or export of which is prohibited by paragraphs 9 or 10 of Resolution 1970 (2011) as modified by this resolution, including the provision of armed mercenary personnel, calls upon all flag States of such vessels and aircraft to cooperate with such inspections and authorises Member States to use all measures commensurate to the specific circumstances to carry out such inspections";
In violation of this: supply of French Milan anti-tank missiles, Swedish Carl Gustav 84mm rifles, 68mm rockets and mortars and Maadi assault rifles from Egypt; this, in addition to the British, French and Italian military advisors helping the terrorists.

3.10 Violation of Geneva Conventions:  NATO and the Transitional National Council have given the people of Sirte ten days to surrender or face a full military onslaught. This is not a cease-fire. While they await their fate, they will still be subject to artillery fire and NATO bombing, and food, water and electricity have already been cut off.
These siege tactics have been outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. In particular, Article 14 of the second Protocol to the Geneva Conventions states, 
"Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited. It is therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless for that purpose objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as food-stuffs, agricultural areas for the production of food-stuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations, and supplies and irrigation works."

The 4th Geneva Convention prohibits all forms of attacks on civilians and the collective punishment of civilian populations, so virtually everything that the combined TNC-NATO forces are doing to the people of Sirte is strictly illegal and in fact criminal.

4. Sample Crimes:
21.03.2011. Tens of civilians killed on 31st of March in Gharyan city in western Libya (video).
07.04.2011. --- NATO bombers killed 15 rebels and wounded 22 on the outskirts of Brega.
20.04.2011. TRIPOLI NATO Bombing The Libyan Arab Association For Human Rights (video).
27.04.2011. --- NATO attacked the city of Misrata, killing 12 people and wounding 5 others.
30.04.2011. --- The bombing of the Downs Syndrome School in Tripoli (video).
30.04.2011.--- NATO killed inocent civilinas: The youngest son of our great leader Saif Al arab gaddafi was only 29 years old, grandchildren of our Great Leader, Saif Mohammed Muammar Gaddafi was one year and 3 months (born on 30 January 2010) , Carthage Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi was 2 years and 9 months old (born on 2 August 2008) and Mastura Humaid (daughter of Aisha) was 4 months and half (she was born on 15 December 2010) (video).
09.05.2011. --- 600 civilians are reported dead after getting into trouble on thier boat. They send urgent SOS messages to NATO, but they were ignored (video).
13.05.2011. The 11 imams (spiritual leaders of Islam) that were killed. The imams were killed in a NATO bombing in the city of Brega (east), which also injured about 50 people. (video)
17.05.2011.---The NATO attack on Libya's Anti-Corruption Agency on May 17 was extremely convenient for some Westrern politicians (video).
12.06.2011. --- The bombing of the University of Tripoli. Death toll not yet established. (link) or photo evdence.
15.06.2011. --- At least 12 people were killed and two injured when a NATO air strike hit a bus Wednesday evening in Libya's Kikla city (video).
19.06.2011. --- 9 civilians were killed by a NATO air strike on Tripoli (video).
19.06.2011. --- Massacre of Al-Hamedi family 15 civilians, including 3 children, were killed by another NATO air strike on Sorman (link).
19.06.2011. --- Firetracs was bombed (video).
22.06.2011. --- The bombing of the Great Man made Waterway irrigation system, which supplies most Libyans with their drinking water. Water for 4,5 million INOCENT CIVILIANS IN LIBYA (video).
22.06.2011. -- Zliten - many civilians were chopped into pieces. (link)
28.06. 2011. --- NATO air strike killed 16 civilians (one whole family killed) and more than 20 injured in public market in Tawergha east of Misurata (video).
04.07.2011. --- NATO bombing civilian checkpoint in ZWARA. (video)
15.07.2011. --- At least 12 people were killed and 2 injured when a NATO. The air strike hit the bus with inocent civilians in Kikla City. (video)
17.07.2011. --- Multiple urban areas were bombed simultaneously this morning. Anywhere from 60 to 75 bombs may have been dropped mostly in the areas of Tajura and Seraj, according to eyewitness reports. (video)
23.07.2011. --- The bombing of the factory which makes the pipes for the water system, and the murder of 6 of its employees.
24.07.2011. NATO bombing cattle and poultry project in Torghae city (video).
24. 07.2011. Libya war: NATO Press Briefing, 15 civilians are dead in Tawergha (video).
24.07.2011. ---The bombing of the Hospital at Zliten. Resulting in the murder of a minimum, of 50 civilians many of them children.(video).
25.07.2011. NATO bombed food storage in Zlitan.(video).
25.07.2011. --- 20 civilians were killed by NATO air strikes in Bir al Ghanam. (video)
30.07.2011. --- NATO warplanes also repeatedly bombed a Libyan television station, killing 3 and injuring 15.
02.08.2011. --- Law School In Zlitan (Zliten) (video).
04. 08.2011. --- Woman and two children (video).
07.08.2011. --- NATO bombed today the vegetable market in Tripoli (link).
08.08.2011. --- Libya: NATO MASSACRED 85 CIVILIANS: 33 CHILDREN, 32 WOMEN and 20 MEN (video)...
The persistent on-going bombing of the civilian population in Zliten, Sirte,Twarga, Brega, Zawia and Tripoli, death toll not yet established. All4Peace & LibyaSOS.
http://libyasos.blogspot.com/2011/11/operation-unified-protector-nato-in.html

5. Further documentary evidence of the crimes. 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000524791925
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49TOmo3CZOU&feature=share
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qXRwBXK34o
 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25221
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbR8FaBwPRw
 http://rt.com/news/interview-libya-nato-intrusion-127/
http://libyasos.blogspot.com/2011/11/operation-unified-protector-nato-in.html

Drawn up by: Timothy Bancroft Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
Director and Chief Editor Portuguese Version
Sandra Barr, Nada Pejnovic and Tatjana Dimitrijevic
Christopher C. Black, Barrister, Canada
[Orginal article: http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/06-11-2011/119534-indictment_nato-0/]