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19:17 GMT
BRUSSELS, July 5 (KUNA) -- The Presidency of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) Friday announced that it has assigned "the situation" on
registered vessels of the Comoros, Greece and Cambodia linked with the Gaza
Flotilla case to the Pre-Trial Chamber I.
This is a procedural matter only, and is not the beginning of an
investigation, clarified the ICC which is based at the Hague in a statement.
This situation was referred to the ICC by Comoros , a State Party to the
Rome Statute.
It is the Office of the Prosecutor that decides whether or not to open an
ICC investigation.
The Office of the Prosecutor is conducting a preliminary examination in
order to establish whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met,
it noted.
On 14 May 2013, the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda received a referral from
Comoros , with respect to the 31 May 2010 Israeli raid on the Humanitarian Aid
Flotilla bound for Gaza Strip.
The referral makes reference to seven vessels that were attacked by Israeli
forces and requests the Prosecutor to investigate the incident.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos attacked the vessel Mavi Marmara in
international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, killing nine Turkish citizens
and injuring more than dozens.
According to the referral, this vessel was registered in Comoros while two
of the other vessels subjected to Israeli attacks were registered in Greece
and Cambodia.
Article 12 (2-a) of the Rome Statute allows the ICC to exercise its
jurisdiction over crimes committed on board a vessel, if the State of
registration of that vessel is a State Party to the ICC.
Comoros, Greece and Cambodia are all States Parties to the Rome Statute.
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KUNA 052217 Jul 13NNNN