Last month, HRF went a step further in its mission to bring perpetrators of genocide in Gaza to justice, exposing how states attempt to evade their legal obligations when accountability becomes politically inconvenient.
APPEALS
- Greece: HRF has appealed the Athens prosecutor’s decision to dismiss its complaint against Israeli reservist Oran Rubin, after Greece ruled that it lacked jurisdiction despite previously having opened two investigations into Israeli suspects.
- Lithuania: HRF has taken the state of Lithuania to the European Court of Human Rights after Lithuanian courts refused to investigate Israeli soldier Sean Gor, accused of war crimes, including the killing of Hind Rajab.
NEW CASES
- Italy: HRF has filed a criminal complaint against Israeli soldier Yonatan Chalich, on holiday in Tuscany, over the deadly siege of Al-Shifa Hospital and other crimes committed during the genocide in Gaza.
Vietnam: HRF has filed its second complaint in Vietnam in two months, this time against Israeli reservist Hezi Gilboa, a D9 bulldozer operator who filmed himself demolishing Palestinian homes in Gaza.
Lithuania
In March, HRF filed a criminal complaint against Israeli soldier Sean Gor, who is studying dentistry in Lithuania. Gor served in the “Vampire Empire” company of the 52nd Armored Battalion, 401st Armored Brigade.
HRF’s investigation links Gor’s unit to:
- The killing of Hind Rajab, members of her family, and the two paramedics sent to rescue them;
- The deadly siege of Al-Shifa Hospital;
- The raid and destruction of UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City; and
- The destruction of Palestine Square.
The Lithuanian prosecutor refused to investigate Gor, calling universal jurisdiction an “exceptional” mechanism. Two courts upheld the refusal in April and May, after which HRF petitioned the Lithuanian Constitutional Court.
With every domestic remedy exhausted, HRF has now taken Lithuania to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that Lithuania’s refusal to act in Gor’s case violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
Greece
On 1 September, HRF filed a criminal complaint against Israeli reservist Oran Rubin while he was on holiday in Athens. Rubin served in the 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade and photographed himself on the rubble of Palestine Square and inside the destroyed Al-Taqwa Mosque.
Eight days later, the Chief Prosecutor dismissed the complaint, claiming Greece has no jurisdiction over crimes committed abroad by a foreign national. Yet, Greek authorities have already opened two investigations into Israeli suspects following complaints filed by HRF. The dismissal therefore contradicts Greece’s own previous application of jurisdiction in comparable cases.
HRF has filed an urgent appeal with the Athens Court of Appeals, arguing that:
- Greece is bound by the Geneva Conventions to investigate and prosecute grave breaches;
- Greek law provides jurisdiction over such crimes committed abroad, Greek law incorporates the Rome Statute crimes; and
Under the Rome Statute, national courts bear primary responsibility for prosecuting international crimes, with the ICC acting only when states are unwilling or unable to do so.
Italy
HRF filed a criminal complaint against Israeli soldier Yonatan Chalich while he was on holiday in Tuscany. Chalich served with the Tycoon Company of the Givati Shaked Battalion.
HRF’s complaint states that Chalich was involved in three specific incidents in Gaza City that constitute international crimes.
- The siege and destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital, where Chalich documented himself inside the hospital complex and where mass graves containing at least 80 bodies were later discovered;
- The burning of the Haj Hamdi Harzallah mosque, while the area was under Israeli military control, and with members of Chalich’s company posing inside the mosque; and
- The systematic destruction of Palestine Square.
HRF has filed several complaints in Italy, yet Italian authorities have taken no action. HRF maintains that this continued inaction is incompatible with Italy’s obligations under the Geneva and Genocide Conventions.
Vietnam
HRF has filed a criminal complaint with Vietnamese authorities against Israeli reservist Hezi Gilboa, who served as a D9 armored bulldozer operator with the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion.
Gilboa published videos of himself demolishing, detonating, and burning Palestinian homes in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah. Gilboa also publicly described his unit’s method, stating that: even when soldiers found no military target in an area, they would “complete the demolition and flatten everything.”
HRF submitted that Gilboa has been involved in:
- The destruction of the Abbas Police Station in Gaza City; and
- The destruction of Palestine Square.
The complaint concerns attacks on civilian objects and destruction of property without military necessity based substantially on evidence Gilboa himself published. Vietnam must not become a holiday destination where those implicated in the genocide in Gaza can escape accountability.