Upon the request made by Mr. Nasser Amin, a lawyer and director of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, Mr. “Yasser Batta”, president of West Alexandria Prosecution, issued his decision on February 23^rd 2010 to hear the testimony of Mr. Sami Abu Zahry, Hamas spokesman in the matter of the death of his brother, Yousef Abu Zahry in “Burj al Arab” prison in Alexandria.

Worth mentioning that Mr. Nasser Amin had submitted a request, on September 16^th 2009,  to Councilor. Abdel Megid Mahmoud, the Egyptian Public Prosecutor, to open investigations into the death of Abu Zahra. The application contains several observations concerning the findings that surrounded the incident and the investigation was in the file; as the Egyptian authorities announced it and added that it “is insufficient and can’t show the truth.”

It should be noted that Mr. Amin has called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death of Yusuf Abu Zahry inside his prison, especially since there are many doubts about being tortured.

The Egyptian authorities arrested Yousef Hamdan Awwad Abu Zahry, 38 years, on April 28^th 2009 in Al-Arish City, allegedly infiltrated from the Gaza Strip to Egypt through one of the tunnels. Furthermore, Yousef Abu Zahry has undergone numerous investigations by the Egyptian authorities until he died on October 10^th 2009 at “Burj Al Arab” prison in Alexandria .

The Arab Coalition for International Criminal Court (ACICC)- which includes 74 Arab NGO – appeals to UN Security Council to refer the report of Judge Richard Gold Stone (Head of the United Nations fact-finding on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip) to the International Criminal Court. The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva endorsed the report on October 16, 2009 to be discussed before the Security Council.

In the opinion of the ACICC, referring this file to the ICC by the Security Council will entrench the international criminal justice and the role of the court in protecting human rights and ending the culture of impunity.

The ACICC sees that there is a kind of similarity between the situation of Darfur crisis, which were referred to the International Criminal Court according to decision No. 1593 of the Security Council in 2005 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, after the report of the Fact-Finding Committee,  just like the fact-finding committee headed by Judge Richard Gold Stone that issued the report, which was approved by the UN Human Rights Council.

On the other hand, the referral of this file by the Security Council to the ICC would indicate that the issues of justice and human rights can not tolerate handling policy of double standards and the responsibility of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security are paramount considerations.

The Coalition note that it is concerned about internal investigations that might be conducted by internal judicial authorities on the crimes monitored by the report, which may lead to going around the report, and undermine the role of the International Criminal Court.

In addition, the Coalition is calling upon the UN Security Council, to refer the Gold Stone’s report to the ICC for investigation and accountability of the perpetrators of the crimes that took place during the war in the Gaza Strip, which lasted over 22 days in December and January, and disclosed in the report. Moreover, it appealed to members of the Security Council, including that the five permanent members not to take actions that could delay the referral of the file of Gaza Strip to the ICC, especially since these countries have already taken a clear and specific position about referring Darfur’s file to the International Criminal Court.

Further more, the Coalition warns that compromising or attempting to undermining the referral to the International Criminal Court, will affect the prestige of the international organization and the Security Council, and the role of the International Criminal Court in the protection of human rights and the consolidation of international criminal justice.

The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its strong condemnation for the crimes done by the Israeli military machine against the unarmed Palestinian citizens; as these crimes represent serious violations of the Geneva Conventions.

The Center condemns these crimes that are, at the lowest estimates, regarded as war crimes in accordance with the relevant international conventions including the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (dated August 12^th 1949).  In addition to Article VIII of Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and which define war crimes as “Gross violations of the Geneva Conventions, which include any of the following acts against persons and their properties protected by the relevant Geneva Convention: 1, A-1 murder .. B4 intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause collateral damage of life or injury to civilians or cause civil damage…

The center believes that these crimes against the unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip – like broad and systematic military attack against civilians since yesterday (27/12/2008) and the siege –  will necessarily force the civilians in Gaza Strip to live in conditions that lead to their destruction in the case of criminal intent. This represents crime of genocide in accordance with Article VI, paragraph (c) of the Rome Status establishing the International Criminal Court.

While the Center condemns these grave violations and the Israeli war crimes, it calls on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to issue a decision to form an international commission of inquiry. Furthermore, to submit a request to the Security Council to refer the crimes that are happening and happened in Gaza  to the International Criminal Court, along the lines of what happened in the case of Darfur, so that the perpetrators do not escape with impunity.

The Center also calls upon the Palestinian human rights organizations, particularly those operating in the Gaza Strip, to document these crimes quickly and to count victims in addition to collect information on the battalions and the Israeli military commanders, who are involved in this attack and these crimes. Furthermore, the center calls upon them to provide such information to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, if the Israeli authorities obstruct the means of prosecuting those involved in these crimes.