The Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman was eliminated by a drone attack while reporting on the battle of a school in southern Gaza Strip.
The Al Jazeera Media Network states it will refer the killing of its cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Gaza to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a declaration on Saturday, the Qatar-based network stated it has actually advised its legal group to “urgently” refer the case of what it called “the assassination” of Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman Samer Abudaqa to the court in The Hague.
Abudaqa was eliminated by a drone attack on Friday while reporting on an earlier battle of a school utilized as a shelter for displaced individuals in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
“Al Jazeera Media Network repeats its denunciation and condemnation of the assassination criminal offense of its coworker, Samer Abudaqa, who dedicated 19 years with the Network to covering the continuous dispute in the occupied Palestinian areas,” stated the network’s declaration.
“In addition to the assassination of Abudaqa by the Israeli profession forces in the Gaza Strip, the legal file will likewise incorporate persistent attacks on the Network’s teams working and running in the occupied Palestinian areas and circumstances of incitement versus them.”
Targeting reporters is a war criminal activity under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.
The media network stated it has actually established a working group comprising its global legal group and global legal professionals to send a file to the court’s district attorney.
Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Wael Dahdouh– who lost his partner, kid, child and grand son in a previous Israeli battle– was injured in the exact same attack on Friday. He was struck by shrapnel on his arm and handled to reach the Nasser Hospital where he was dealt with for small injuries.
Rescue groups were not able to instantly reach Abudaqa and others at the website as they required approval from Israeli forces to bulldoze through the particles to get to the place.
By the time rescuers got here 5 hours after the attack, Abudaqa had actually bled to death.
The 45-year-old was put to rest in southern Gaza on Saturday, with lots of mourners, consisting of reporters, paying their aspects.
“We are bring this human message, we are bring this honorable message,” Dahdouh stated in his eulogy as mourners around him wept. “We will continue to do our task with professionalism and openness.”
Al Jazeera had actually formerly sent an official demand to the ICC to examine and prosecute those accountable for shooting a veteran tv press reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022 while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Proof supplied in the demand, submitted in December 2022, consists of a detailed six-month examination by the network, collecting witness accounts and video footage, to name a few product.
The ICC has actually acknowledged its invoice, yet no additional actions have actually been taken.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states the continuous dispute in Gaza is the most dangerous for reporters ever taped, with a minimum of 64 press reporters and media employees eliminated in 10 weeks of the enclave’s battle.
The CPJ has actually likewise contacted the worldwide authorities to “perform an independent examination into the attack to hold the wrongdoers to account”.