Occupy London War Crimes Tribunal invites you to…
The Court of Public Opinion
Occupied Old St Magistrates Court Thursday 19th January 10.30 – 16.30
or streamed live online at http://occupylsx.org/?page_id=11
- Occupy London is conducting a series of people’s inquiries into the state of Britain today. This event is the first of several that’ll focus on war and war crimes.
- At this tribunal, we’re going to consider the legality of the Iraq war and the crimes committed against the Iraqi people.
- We intend to use the evidence presented to establish whether or not Tony Blair and others should be put on trial at the Old Bailey or at the ICC in The Hague for violations of the laws of war.
- At the end of the proceedings we’ll ask everyone in the court and viewers online (the jury) to decide if criminal proceedings should be commenced against Tony Blair and others for their part in the armed invasion and occupation of Iraq.
- On the day, we’re not going to establish whether Tony Blair or anyone else is guilty or innocent of war crimes. We leave those decisions to the courts and the established justice system. What we are going to do, however, is try and establish if there’s enough evidence for the police and prosecuting authorities in Britain and The Hague to start criminal proceedings against the perpetrators of the war.
- We’re doing this to highlight the deep-seated corruption at the heart of law enforcement authorities in London, Washington and The Hague. It is this corruption that is protecting has the world’s leading war criminals from being prosecuted. Our political, civil and military leaders are repeatedly committing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, mass murder and crimes against peace. So far, they’ve done this with impunity. We must hold them to account in court for their crimes.
- Thursday’s proceedings are about establishing the facts. During the day, we’re going to:
- hear the allegations,
- establish what happened here and in Iraq,
- establish what the law says about war and the use of force,
- hear the case against the defendants (Tony Blair and others)
- hear the case for the defence
- deliberate on what we’ve seen and heard
- make our decision
- set out the next steps.
It’s a lot to do in a short space of time so we’re asking everyone involved to keep their contributions concise. We also ask that people keep a balanced and factual view of the evidence.
Chris Coverdale for Occupy Criminal Investigation Unit – 16 January 2012