Al Jazeera to refer journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing to ICC
Qatar's Al Jazeera TV Network will refer the killing of its journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it said in a televised statement on Thursday.
The network said in a statement on Thursday that it has formed an international coalition that consists of its legal team along with international experts, and is preparing a dossier on the murder of Abu Akleh for submission to the ICC prosecutor.
Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter, was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on 11 May.
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In addition to the killing of Abu Akleh, the ICC submission will also include the Israeli bombing "and total destruction" of Al Jazeera's office in Gaza in May 2021, and "the continuous incitements and attacks" on Al Jazeera journalists working in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Al Jazeera network statement said the killing or physical assault on journalists working in war zones or occupied territories is a war crime under Article 8 of the International Criminal Court's charter.
"Al Jazeera Media Network condemns the killing of our colleague Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked with the Network for 25 years as a professional journalist covering the ongoing conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories," the network said in a statement.
"The Network vows to follow every path to achieve justice for Shireen, and ensure those responsible for her killing are brought to justice and held accountable in all international justice and legal platforms and courts."
Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian Authority announced the results of an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American Abu Akleh that showed Israeli forces deliberately shot and killed the veteran reporter.
Speaking to reporters in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian Attorney General Akram al-Khatib said that Abu Akleh, 51, was hit with an armour-piercing bullet.
