The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has blocked an attempt made to arrest Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Lvini for war crimes, after the Foreign Office declared that she had special temporary immunity.
An unidentified private individual had applied to the DPP for an arrest warrant for allaged war crimes committed by Lvini during Israel’s offensive on Gaza in 2008, when she served as Israeli Foreign Minister.
The move was however blocked by the DPP Keir Starmer QC, after newly changed legislation requires his consent to approve any arrest warrant applications. It was revealed that this was because Foreign Secretary William Hague "has consented to the visit to the UK of Ms Livni as a special mission".
“Special mission” status, which has rarely been granted to an individual, cannot be challenged.
See report from Reuters here.
A joint statement with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said,
"The government has abused the law in order to ensure that Ms Livni escapes accountability. Ms Livni is not a member of the Israeli government, but the leader of the opposition.
This action exhibits a serious and worrying disregard for the rule of law, and appears to be in violation of the UK's international obligations."
See our earlier post: ‘Britain amends universal jurisdiction law’ (Sep 2011)
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