Israel/Belgium: Dismay at Sharon case decision

Amnesty International is extremely dismayed at the decision by the Court of
Appeal of Brussels that declared a complaint concerning the "Sharon" case
inadmissible. The Court's decision was based on its analysis of Belgian law
which concluded that no investigation can be opened in Belgium for war
crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide unless the suspect is found in
the country.

The complaint before the Belgian court concerned the killings of at least
900 Palestinian men, women and children in the Sabra and Shatila refugee
camps in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon in September 1982.

"This restrictive interpretation of Belgian national law is inconsistent
with international law," said Amnesty International.

The organization believes that the Belgian Parliament, in enacting the 1993
law providing for universal jurisdiction over war crimes, as well as in its
1999 amendment to that law extending its scope to crimes against humanity
and genocide, intended to provide Belgian courts with the full extent of
universal jurisdiction over these crimes permitted under international law.