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London Conference on Abuse of "Universal Jurisdiction"

[CNS News] Julie Stahl - A London conference on Wednesday debated the "promise and perils" of universal jurisdiction, a concept that allows foreign nationals to be prosecuted for crimes committed elsewhere. A Palestinian civil rights group has used the doctrine to demand that a British court investigate an Israeli soldier for war crimes. Maj.-Gen. Doron Almog participated in the rescue of the Air France flight hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, and later helped secure Israel's border with Gaza against terrorist infiltrators while heading the army's Southern Command from 2000-2003. But when Almog arrived in London in 2005 to raise funds for children with special needs, he was warned by Israeli officials not to get off the plane because he would be arrested for alleged war crimes. "Originally the idea of universal jurisdiction was conceived in many European countries in order to stop war criminals - former leaders who engaged in genocide, who have escaped the law," said Dr. Dore Gold, head of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "Unfortunately, the whole system of universal jurisdiction has been abused." "Universal jurisdiction should be directed precisely at those countries like Iran, where those who engage in mass murder are considered heroes, and not against the U.S., the UK and Israel, who are leading the war on terrorism." Almog still cannot travel to Britain and participated in the conference through a video link.
2008-11-27 01:00:00
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