Swiss prosecutors confirmed that Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been the subject of criminal complaints during his visit to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“The criminal complaints will be examined according to the usual procedure,” the Office of the Swiss Attorney General was reported as saying by Reuters news agency.
The Office reportedly added that it would contact the Swiss Foreign Ministry to examine the question of immunity of the individual concerned.
The Swiss office did not specify what the complaints were or who filed them.
However, Agence France Press (AFP) reported that several unnamed individuals had filed charges with federal prosecutors and cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern, and Zurich against the Israeli President.
AFP obtained a statement issued by the individuals who filed the complaints, entitled ‘Legal Actions against Crimes against Humanity.’
“We welcome this news, which is not surprising, to be honest,” Dr. Triestino Mariniello, Professor of Law at Liverpool John Moores University, told The Palestine Chronicle.
“Considering the severity of the situation in Gaza, I believe it is not going to be the last initiative of this kind,” Mariniello also said, adding:
“This would be particularly true if the International Court of Justice accepts South Africa’s complaint against Israel for alleged genocide in Gaza. I think this would have a ripple effect, leading to several domestic cases of this nature, on the basis of universal jurisdiction over war crimes or crimes against humanity.”
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 24,762 Palestinians have been killed, and 62,108 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Source: The Palestine Chronicle