It's offical, Israeli soldiers guilty of murder.
krole | 06.04.2006 23:41 | Analysis | Anti-militarism | Repression | World
In May 2003, James Miller was murdered by an Israeli soldier who deliberately targeted him while he was filming Palestinian children in a refugee camp. This was the unanimous verdict of the inquest jury at the St Pancras Coroner’s Court, in London yesterday. After an hour of deliberation, the jury decided that Mr Miller had been deliberately shot.
The award-winning cameraman had been killed by a close range shot by an Israeli Defence Force soldier in the Rafah refugee camp. His film, Death in Gaza, won three Emmy awards last year.
Also last year, an Israeli investigation in April last year cleared an IDF soldier of misuse of a firearm - they never bother to charge him with murder. Mr Miller’s family and friends have been campaigning ever since for a new inquiry into his death.
After the verdict yesterday, the family said that they wanted to bring a prosecution against the soldier involved. Their solicitor, Louise Christian, said that Lieutenant Heib, should be prosecuted under the Geneva Convention.
The family accuse the commanding officer and other soldiers of “lying and perverting the course of justice, and tampering with evidence” and are demanding a full investigation.
The coroner, Andrew Reid, said that they had to decide whether Mr Miller killing had been murder or manslaughter. He instructed the jury that the only possible verdict they could return was that of unlawful killing.
On the verdict, the spokesperson for the jury added: “It is a fact that from Day 1 of this inquest the Israeli authorities have not been forthcoming in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Miller’s death.”
Detective Inspector Robert Anderson told the inquest that the Israelis had been uncooperative during the investigation by refusing Scotland Yard access to key witnesses, including the soldiers involved in the shooting. He said it was clear that Mr Miller posed no threat to the troops, nor had there been firing from the Palestinian camp directed at the soldiers, as the Israeli authorities had claimed.
Foreign Office minister Kim Howells said, “The verdict of unlawful killing does not come as a surprise to me. The British Government has consistently pressed the Israelis at all levels to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation. We are disappointed that the military police investigation did not recommend an indictment and that no one has been held to account for James’s death.”
Also last year, an Israeli investigation in April last year cleared an IDF soldier of misuse of a firearm - they never bother to charge him with murder. Mr Miller’s family and friends have been campaigning ever since for a new inquiry into his death.
After the verdict yesterday, the family said that they wanted to bring a prosecution against the soldier involved. Their solicitor, Louise Christian, said that Lieutenant Heib, should be prosecuted under the Geneva Convention.
The family accuse the commanding officer and other soldiers of “lying and perverting the course of justice, and tampering with evidence” and are demanding a full investigation.
The coroner, Andrew Reid, said that they had to decide whether Mr Miller killing had been murder or manslaughter. He instructed the jury that the only possible verdict they could return was that of unlawful killing.
On the verdict, the spokesperson for the jury added: “It is a fact that from Day 1 of this inquest the Israeli authorities have not been forthcoming in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Miller’s death.”
Detective Inspector Robert Anderson told the inquest that the Israelis had been uncooperative during the investigation by refusing Scotland Yard access to key witnesses, including the soldiers involved in the shooting. He said it was clear that Mr Miller posed no threat to the troops, nor had there been firing from the Palestinian camp directed at the soldiers, as the Israeli authorities had claimed.
Foreign Office minister Kim Howells said, “The verdict of unlawful killing does not come as a surprise to me. The British Government has consistently pressed the Israelis at all levels to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation. We are disappointed that the military police investigation did not recommend an indictment and that no one has been held to account for James’s death.”
krole