AMSTERDAM: The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, said on Monday that Judge Yuji Iwasawa had been elected as its new president to complete former president Nawaf Salam’s term that ends on February 5, 2027.
Salam resigned in January to become Lebanon’s prime minister.
Iwasawa, who is Japanese, has been a member of the World Court since 2018 and before that was a professor of international law at the University of Tokyo and chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The ICJ, the UN’s highest court and based in The Hague, was established in 1945 to resolve disputes between states.
It recently gained global attention in the ongoing case surrounding genocide accusations against Israel — which it has denied — in the Gaza war.
In July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation since the 1967 Middle East war of Palestinian territories and its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were illegal and that it must withdraw as soon as possible.
For Palestinians and most of the international community, the settlements are considered illegal. Israel disputes this, citing the Jewish people’s historical, biblical and political links to the area as well as security considerations.
World Court elects Judge Yugi Iwasawa as new president
https://arab.news/5pmpa
World Court elects Judge Yugi Iwasawa as new president
- Nawaf Salam resigned in January to become Lebanon’s prime minister
- ICJ recently gained global attention in the ongoing case surrounding genocide accusations against Israel in the Gaza war
Palestine activists on hunger strike in UK prisons ‘face death’ if government fails to act
- One activist, who has refused food since Nov. 2, was rushed to hospital after collapsing
- None of the 8 Palestine Action members have been convicted of a crime
LONDON: Eight Palestine Action activists on hunger strike in the UK face dying in prison if Justice Secretary David Lammy fails to intervene, lawyers representing the group have warned.
Two of the activists on Wednesday reached the 46-day mark of their protest. A third is on 45 days.
It was at 46 days that Martin Hurson, 24, became the sixth of 10 prominent Irish Republican Army hunger strikers to die in 1981.
Lawyers for the activists on Tuesday sent a letter to Lammy, also the UK’s deputy prime minister, The Times reported.
He was warned that without intervention, the deaths of the eight activists is “increasingly more than a mere possibility. It is a likelihood.”
None of the activists have been convicted of a crime, and are serving lengthy periods on remand for two alleged break-ins in protest against Israeli arms companies and military sites with ties to the country.
One of the group, Qesser Zuhrah, 20, has refused food since Nov. 2. She collapsed several nights ago in prison as her legs shook uncontrollably, her lawyers said.
Zuhrah was left on the floor for hours “coming in and out of consciousness” before she was rushed to hospital, they added.
In the days before her collapse, she found it difficult to walk and suffered sharp pain in her neck, shoulders and lower abdominal region, they said.
A protest demanding an ambulance for Zuhrah was held on Tuesday night and attended by Your Party MP Zarah Sultana. The rally outside the prison descended into violence, with police arresting three protesters.
Another Palestine Action protester on hunger strike, Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 30, is suffering cognitive decline and has low red and white blood cell counts, test results quoted by her lawyers show.
One of the eight protesters who has since ended his involvement has muscular dystrophy. Another, a diabetic, is at the 13-day mark of the hunger strike.
The lawyers representing the group, from Imran Khan & Partners, said it is the “biggest coordinated prison hunger strike” in the UK since 1981. That year, 10 prisoners in Northern Ireland died after taking part in an IRA hunger strike.
The legal firm said: “All have lost a significant percentage of their body weight, and, with the hunger strike in its second month, are reaching a critical stage and nearing the point of no return.”
Despite mounting pressure from MPs, Lammy has refused to meet the activists’ lawyers.
A group of 58 MPs have signed an early day motion expressing “extreme concern” over the status of the activists.
Their families are set to hold a press conference on Thursday.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, said last week that Lammy’s refusal to meet MP John McDonnell over the issue was “totally unacceptable.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in Parliament this week that “there are rules and procedures in place in relation to hunger strikes, and we’re following those rules and procedures.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “We continually assess prisoners’ wellbeing and will always take the appropriate action, including taking prisoners to hospital if they are assessed as needing treatment by a medical professional.”
The alleged crimes of the eight activists took place before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the government in July.
The group are demanding immediate bail, a reversal of Palestine Action’s proscription and an end to restrictions on their communications in prison.
Imran Khan & Partners’ letter to Lammy, seen by The Times, said: “You are uniquely placed in that as a senior government minister with oversight of His Majesty’s prison service, you can bring about a resolution of the situation, such that the increasing deterioration of our clients’ health does not lead to their death.
“We are at a loss why you would not want to do this. We make clear that our request for a meeting is in an effort to seek to resolve the immediate situation and prevent the loss of life. Unless you tell us, we cannot see any reason why you would not want to engage in this process.”
