The International Criminal Court (ICC) has received a formal request from the Al Jazeera media network to find and prosecute those responsible for the death of prominent Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aklih.
On May 11, Abu Akleeh was killed while documenting an Israeli military attack on a refugee camp in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank. Israeli soldiers. Abu Aklih worked as a television correspondent for Al Jazeera for 25 years.
The 51-year-old and highly respected journalist from Jerusalem gave voice to the Palestinians by covering the Israeli occupation.
The application includes a complete six-month dossier. The investigation From Al Jazeera, which compiles every piece of video and eyewitness testimony, as well as the latest information on Abu Akleih’s murder.
According to Al Jazeera’s lawyer Rodney Dixon KC, the request to the ICC comes “in the context of widespread attacks on journalists in Al Jazeera and Palestine”, citing events such as the bombing of the network’s Gaza office. Is. May 15, 2021.
“This is not a single incident, this is a murder that is part of a wider pattern that prosecutors must investigate to identify and charge those responsible for the murders,” AJ quoted him as saying. said
While the focus has been on Abu Aklih, “the evidence we collect looks at all the actions against Al Jazeera because it has been targeted as an international media organization,” Israeli officials claimed. “Trying to close it” island) up”.
Following the network’s request, Dixon said Al Jazeera hoped the ICC prosecutor would “actually start investigating this matter.” The network’s appeal led to a complaint by Abu Akleih’s family to the ICC in September, backed by the International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Press Syndicate.
Abu Aklih and other journalists were walking down a road in front of Israeli forces when they came under fire. According to an Al Jazeera documentary on Fault Lines, they were wearing bulletproof jackets and protective helmets emblazoned with the word “Press”.
Al Jazeera Media Network said in a statement that new evidence submitted by Al Jazeera showed that “Sherin and his colleagues were fired upon directly by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).” AJ Reported
According to Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief and friend and colleague of Abu Aklih, Walid al-Omari, it is important to keep the case in the public eye. “We don’t think Israel should escape accountability.”
After reviewing the available information, the ICC will decide whether to include the investigation into the killing of Abu Akleeh in the ongoing investigation.
The ICC concluded in 2021 that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories falls under its purview. Al-Jazeera has asked in its submission that the killing of Abu Akalih be included in this larger inquiry.
“We are asking for an investigation that leads to charges and prosecution of those responsible,” Dixon was quoted as saying.
According to investigations by the United Nations, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, and foreign news agencies, Abu Aklih was killed by an Israeli soldier.
The FBI’s investigation into Abu Akleeh’s murder was made public by the United States in November, news that delighted his family.
After originally wrongly attributing Abu Aklih’s death to armed Palestinians, Israel later admitted that it was “more likely” that an Israeli soldier had “accidentally killed” the journalist. Nevertheless, Israel decided against launching a criminal investigation.
The Al Jazeera media network has since described the killing as a “blatant murder” and a “heinous crime”.