IMMEDIATE RELEASE - WTI demands Bush & Blair indictment at International Criminal Court

[WTI <tolga.temuge at worldtribunal.org>]

*WORLD TRIBUNAL ON IRAQ DEMANDS BUSH AND BLAIR INDICTMENT AT
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT*


*1 August 2005, Istanbul, Turkey* -  The Final Statement by the Jury of
Conscience of the World Tribunal on Iraq calls for the International
Criminal Court (ICC) to indict, prosecute, and punish the perpetrators
and collaborators for the aggression against Iraq and the related
international crimes arising from the subsequent occupation of the
country. The statement lists the violations in international law
committed during and after this war and also provides recommendations
for the prevention of future illegal and illegitimate action.

The Statement relies upon the extensive testimony given in written and
oral form by international law experts during the Culminating Session of
the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) in Istanbul between 23-27 June 2005. It
also reflects the testimony and submissions on related issues of war
crimes and the failure of the United Nations to protect Iraq against
aggression.

The Chair of the Jury of Consience in Istanbul, Arundhati Roy, said in
India "We, the Jury of Conscience, hope that the scope and specificity of
these recommendations will lay the groundwork for a world whose future
cannot be shaped by multi-national corporations and Heads of State in
violation of the explicit and stated will of the people they claim to
represent, where journalists and intellectuals will not remain mute, where
human security will prevail over the drive for political, economic and
cultural hegemony, the insatiable greed of the military-industrial complex
and the quest for corporate profit."

In the Istanbul session, members of the Jury of Conscience from 10
different countries heard the testimonies of 54 members comprising the
Panel of Advocates who came from across the world, including Iraq, the
United States and the United Kingdom. The session in Istanbul was the
culminating session of commissions of inquiry and hearings held around
the world over the past two years (1).



*For more information* and the full text of the Jury Statement please
visit www.worldtribunal.org <http://www.worldtribunal.org/>

Or contact Tolga Temuge, international media co-ordinator,
tolga.temuge at worldtribunal.org <mailto:tolga.temuge at worldtribunal.org>

*Notes:*

1. Sessions on different topics related to the war on Iraq were held in
Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Hiroshima, Istanbul, Lisbon,
London, Mumbai, New York, Östersund, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm,
Tunis, various cities in Japan and Germany.