- When diplomatic immunity trumps the United Nations Convention on Torture Archived Message
Posted by Der
on March 13, 2020, 7:19 am
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Danish Police Reject Torture Complaint Against Carmi Gillon COPENHAGEN - Danish police Tuesday rejected a formal complaint by a group of torture victims against new Israeli ambassador Carmi Gillon for sanctioning torture in his own country, citing the diplomat's immunity. In a statement, local police chief Michael Clan said he rejected the complaint against Gillon and would not intervene in the case, quoting statements by Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft to the effect that Gillon's diplomatic immunity took precedence over the United Nations Convention on Torture. The complaint, delivered on August 17 to the police station in a northern Copenhagen suburb where the Israeli ambassador's residence is located, was signed by a group of seven victims of torture. They came from Turkey, Bosnia, Iran, India and Chile and are all living in Denmark. Soeren Soendergaard, the far-left Unity List party parliamentarian behind the initiative, also signed. The complaint accuses Gillon of responsibility for at least 100 cases of torture against Palestinians while he was chief of the Israeli security service in the mid-1990s. "We will now take the matter up in parliament," Soendergaard said after the police rejection of the complaint. Humanitarian organizations, notably the Copenhagen-based International Rehabilitation Center for the Victims of Torture, promised further action against Gillon. Gillon's arrival in Copenhagen last month prompted demonstrations and widespread media interest. His nomination sparked a fiery debate in Denmark because of remarks he made supporting the limited use of torture against Palestinians to prevent terror attacks. Gillon has admitted authorizing the use of torture on Palestinians while heading the Shin Bet security service. Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft said last month that Israel had the right to appoint whoever it wished as ambassador and he had no intention of intervening, but strongly reiterated Denmark's abhorrence of torture. Despite calls from left-wing opposition politicians and human rights organizations to arrest Gillon for breaching international conventions banning torture, Denmark said the envoy was protected by diplomatic immunity. Gillon will formally take up his post later in September after presenting his credentials to Queen Margrethe. https://www.haaretz.com/1.5427849 |
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