Mernat Mafirakurewa, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa crack fighting unit, the National Prosecuting Authority, has been urged to prosecute people suspected of war crimes in Gaza. The call was made by the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance (PSA) and the Media Review Network (MRN).
The two organizations handed the NPA a file of about 3500 pages, which they said indicated prima facie evidence that “South African citizens and/or residents are implicated in the commissions of these crimes”.
Contacted for comment by the media, NPA’s spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said it was still “going through the file and considering it”.
Zev Krengel of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies described the move as an attempt to use South Africa’s judiciary system for an issue that is very political. “I believe this is an attempt to use our independent judiciary and criminal justice system for a complex political situation in the Middle East. Political issues need to be discussed and solutions found politically,” he said.
The organizations brought their application under a South African law, which gives effect to the Rome Statute.
It makes the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity a legal obligation. It covers South Africans and anyone who sets foot in SA alleged to have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.
The evidence includes a recent report by the Human Science Research Council which found Israel’s policies in occupied Palestinian territory to “fit the definition of apartheid” in international law. Apartheid has been deemed a crime against humanity.
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