Turkish rights group urges arrest of Barak

A Turkish rights group has called on the state prosecution to issue arrest warrant for the Israeli defense minister over his role in the war crimes that took place in the Gaza War.

The human rights organization, Mazlumder, said in a statement that the request was based on the right of universal jurisdiction and Article CMK98 of the Turkish law.

The group added Israel perpetrated genocide and crimes against humanity; Israeli forces bombed UN buildings, hospitals, and schools.

"As was proven by lab tests performed by Turkish universities, they also used phosphorous bombs, which are forbidden. It is known that Israel used an assortment of ammunitions that caused physiological and psychological diseases among the Gazan population," the statement said.

“We know that [Israeli Defense Minister Ehud] Barak will arrive in Turkey on the 17th of the month,” said the organization. “(We) need to put him on trial and prevent every other Israeli who is responsible for war crimes from entering Turkey freely. We remind the Turkish prosecution of its role. We remind them that Britain has already decided to arrest [former foreign minister] Tzipi Livni when she was slated to arrive in the country. "

“We remind them that Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert must also be arrested according to Article CMK-98 of the Turkish law, which grants us the right to try them," Mazlumder added.

Tel Aviv is worried that charges could be lodged against its politicians and army officers for war crimes committed during Israel's 22-day offensive against the Gaza Strip.

More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during three weeks of Israel's land, sea and air assault, Operation Cast Lead, in the impoverished coastal sliver. The offensive also inflicted $ 1.6 billion in damages to the Gaza economy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=116166§ionid=351020204.