Al Jazeera to refer killing of journalist Samer Abudaqa to war crimes court
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Cairo: Al Jazeera is preparing a legal file to send to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over what it called “the assassination” of its cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Gaza, the Qatari-based network said on Saturday.
The cameraman, Samer Abudaqa, was killed by a drone strike on Friday while reporting on the bombing of a school in Khan Younis, used as a shelter for displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster.
Abudaqa remained bleeding for over five hours due to continued bombing, as ambulances were unable to reach his injured location, reports the channel.
“The Network established a joint working group, which comprises of its international legal team and international legal experts who will collaboratively initiate the process of compiling a comprehensive file for submission to the court’s prosecutor,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.
“In addition to the assassination of Abudaqa by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, the legal file will also encompass recurrent attacks on the Network’s crews working and operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and instances of incitement against them,” it said.
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Targeting journalists is a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.
The media network has said that it has set up a working group comprising its international legal team of experts to submit a file to the court’s prosecutor.
Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Wael Dahdouh, who lost his wife, son, daughter and grandson in a previous Israeli bombing, was wounded in the same attack on Friday. Hit by shrapnel on his upper arm, he managed to reach the Nasser Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
However, the rescue teams were unable to immediately reach Abudaqa and others at the site as they needed approval from Israeli forces to bulldoze through the debris to get to the location.
By the time the rescuers arrived, Abudaqa had bled to death. The 45-year-old was laid to rest in southern Gaza on Saturday, with dozens of mourners, including journalists, paying their respects, reports Al Jazeera.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the ongoing conflict in Gaza is the deadliest for journalists ever recorded, with at least 64 reporters and media workers killed in 10 weeks of Israeli bombing.
The ICC already has an ongoing investigation into any alleged crimes within its jurisdiction committed on Palestinian territory and by Palestinians on the territory of Israel.
Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC over the Palestinian territories and has previously refused to cooperate with the court.
