British police feared a
"real threat of an armed confrontation"
IPCC reveals why Israeli war crimes
suspect Doron Almog escaped arrest on
11 September 2005
Background:
On 10th January 2002 Israeli bulldozers
flattened 59 houses in the Rafah refugee
camp on the Gaza Strip. Residents fled
their homes in heavy rain, most losing all their
possessions in the process. Among those
made homeless were a number of children
who were terrified and traumatised by what happened.
It appears that the motive for the destruction
was retaliation for an unrelated attack by militants
which resulted in the death of four Israeli soldiers.
The Commanding Officer who authorised the
demolitions was Major General (Reserve)
Doron Almog.
The extensive destruction of property not
justified by military necessity and carried
out unlawfully and wantonly is a grave
breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The collective punishment of civilians is
also forbidden under the Geneva Conventions.
Over the years, many Palestinian civilians
have tried to obtain redress, peacefully and
lawfully, through the Israeli Courts for incidents
of this nature. Sadly, the Courts have
declared these matters to be non-justiciable
(itself arguably a further Convention breach).
Offering people who suffer wrongs a route
to redress without violence is fundamental to
preserving the rule of law. All nations are
required to take effective steps to prosecute
war crimes irrespective of where they occur.
Doron Almog escapes arrest
On 10 September 2005, Chief London
Magistrate Timothy Workman issued
a warrant for the arrest of Major General
Almog on suspicion of committing a
grave breach of the Fourth Geneva
Convention 1949 which in the UK is
a criminal offence contrary to the Geneva
Conventions Act 1957. The arrest warrant
was passed to the Anti-Terrorist and War
Crimes Unit of the Metropolitan Police
which failed to execute the warrant when
Mr Almog, who had been tipped off about
the arrest warrant by Israeli embassy staff,
refused to leave a plane which had recently
landed at Heathrow and police officers decided
not to board it to arrest him.
Police complaint lifts the veil
One of Mr Almog's alleged victims,
Mr Abdul Matar, made a police complaint
about the apparent tip off to Mr Almog and
the failure to board the aircraft to arrest
him. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
initially refused even to record the police
complaint, let alone investigate it, but,
after the IPCC intervened, the shocking
details of their incompetence on 10-11
September 2005 have been revealed. First, in
the lead up to the Mr Almog's arrival in the UK:
· Not only did the MPS inform six different
police and security agencies of the existence
of the 'secret' warrant, they also disclosed
confidential information to a "Trusted Partner"
(thought to be a civilian, but who has not been
identified) to advise the MPS on their own conduct.
· The Trusted Partner instructed a lawyer
to represent Mr Almog (apparently without naming
him) and made inquiries of the local Jewish community
in Solihull (who he was visiting) about his schedule.
· The MPS also contacted the El Al airline
while Mr Almog was in flight to the UK. (El Al later
refused the MPS voluntary access to the airplane.)
In these circumstances, it was not surprising
that Mr Almog was alerted to the existence of the
warrant and so decided not to leave the airplane on
11 September. What is surprising are the reasons
why Det. Superintendent MacBrayne and
Commander McDowall[i] made the decision not
board the airplane:-
· They were apparently unclear if the police
were legally entitled to board the aircraft; and
· They were concerned about the risk
that an armed Israeli would confront any police
that attempted to board the 'plane; and
· The consequent risk to the police and public; and
· The international impact of a potentially
armed police operation at an airport; and
· The impact on the community in
arresting an Israeli ex- military commander.
COMMENT
The criminal justice system, Mr Matar and
other victims of war crimes allegedly committed by
Doron Almog have been very badly let down by the
MPS failures:
(a) to keep Mr Almog from finding out
about the arrest warrant before it was executed; and
(b) to arrest Mr Almog when they
had the opportunity to board the airplane at
Heathrow airport.
These are serious failures which raise concerns
about the effectiveness of the police in cases
where international criminal suspects come to
this country. They also reveal an extraordinary
assumption that armed Israelis might engage
British police on British soil as they try to
make an arrest under a lawful warrant issued
by a British judge. The fact that this risk was
apparently taken into account, and led to police
inaction, is a matter of grave concern.
Hopefully, the police have subsequently
sought to obtain assurances that such fears
would never be realised and the legal position
has been clarified within the MPS, so that
there can never again be any concerns about
boarding a 'plane on British soil to effect a
lawful arrest, even where that 'plane is owned
by the national airline of a foreign country. It
also seems appropriate for the role of a Trusted
Partner in such cases to be reviewed.
Raji Sourani, the Director of PCHR,
expressing the disappointment of Mr
Matar at what occurred on 11 September
2005, stated:
"Once again, justice has been denied for
Palestinian civilian victims. We will never forget
or forgive all those who perpetrated war crimes
against Palestinian civilians. Failure to respect
the rule of law and to pursue those responsible
for attacking civilians will undermine the respect
for international law which we do badly need if
we are to have peace in our region. Until such time
we will be faced with the rule of the jungle."
READ ON FOR MORE DETAILS
Further background & notes
The warrant issued on 10th September 2005
was in relation to the allegedly wanton destruction
of 59 houses in Rafah refugee camp in the
Gaza Strip on 10th January 2002.
The decision to apply to the court for an arrest
warrant was taken against the background of a
series of meetings with the War Crimes Unit
of the Metropolitan Police where Hickman & Rose,
on behalf of PCHR and the clients in these cases,
provided the police with a considerable volume of
evidence in relation to this suspect.[1] The police
were unable to take a decision about the arrest
or prosecution of the suspect before his planned
visit on Sunday, 11th September. Consequently,
acting on behalf of the victims, including Mr Matar,
Hickman & Rose and PCHR pursued the
suspect through the judicial system, so that he
could be arrested before fleeing the UK.
Doron Almog is a 54 year old Israeli national
who was GOC Southern Commander of
the Israeli military from 8th December 2000
to 7th July 2003. Under his command the Israeli
military were responsible for a countless variety
of extensive alleged human rights violations
inside the OPT
The prosecution of those suspected of war
crimes is a long term PCHR strategy designed
to combat the culture of impunity which leading
international NGOs have found to be endemic
inside the Israeli military, judicial and political
system. PCHR and Hickman & Rose remain
hopeful that such cases will eventually be
heard in an open and fair trial system which
applies international standards as this has
not (yet) been available through
the Israeli judicial system.
For more information please contact:
Raji Sourani, Lawyer and Director of the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
Phone: 00 972 (0)599 412919
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org
Website: http://www.pchrgaza.org
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is
an independent human rights organization
working on a wide variety of human rights
violations by both the Israeli occupation
and the Palestinian National Authority
Daniel Machover, Partner,
phone: 00 44 (0)7773 341096 OR
Kate Maynard, Solicitor,
phone: 00 44 (0)7899 982977
Hickman & Rose solicitors
Website: http://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk
appointed as Deputy Assistant Commissioner
of the MPS with specific duties as National
Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations, and
now leads Counter Terrorism Command
(SO15). Detective Superintendent
John MacBrayne received a New Year Honour in
the 2008 list. The MPS stated:
"He is one of those rare officers who can combine
the ability to deal with the intricate detail of forensic
detective work, with a worldview that informs his
decision-making in sensitive international investigations.
He has made an enormous contribution to counter terrorism
and to British policing."
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