Dr. Jack Shepard says in memory of Tom Hurndall, "When will we realise that there can't be this many "accidents"?

Tom Hurndall 1981-2004

This was the case in the killing of British ISM activist, Tom Hurndall, who was fatally shot in Rafah six days after Brian's injury. The internal command inquiry ruled that Tom was shot because of the presence of a Palestinian militant in his vicinity. The criminal investigation of the military police discovered that the soldier who fired the fatal shot and another soldier had lied in the internal inquiry. Charges of killing and interfering with the investigative procedure were brought.

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Press Release : Major Breakthrough in case of Tom Hurndall Killing The campaign to obtain justice for Tom Hurndall has achieved an unprecedented breakthrough in its bid to get to the truth behind Tom's killing by an Israeli soldier last spring. The 21 year old British student photographer, was shot while he was shepherding children to safety in Rafah, Gaza .

In May this year Tom's family, through its lawyers - Avigdor Feldman and Michael Sfard, challenged the State Prosecution in respect of its decision not to release crucial evidence contained in the Military Police Inquiry Report.

They argued that ' there is a moral and legal obligation that whatever evidence has been collected and which has led to the indictment of a soldier for manslaughter should be made available 'to be independently tested '. This, they argued 'would be in line with the spirit of the consistent promises of 'Openness and Transparency' made by representatives of the Israeli Army and representatives of the Israeli Government including Ariel Sharon himself'.

The State Prosecution has been forced to take steps, unprecedented since the beginning of the Intifada in 2000, to make all of the evidence available to the family's lawyers. Sight of the evidence will be limited to the family's lawyers only and will not be directly available for family members or other parties to scrutinise. The State Prosecution has argued that this is to prevent a 'Media Trial'.

Crucially, the implications of this result are substantial and are expected to be ground breaking.

The lawyers will seek to address three crucial issues:

Is the current indictment against a soldier for manslaughter, the appropriate indictment or should the indictment be changed to murder?
Are there others who should be indicted in relation to the incident leading to the death of Tom Hurndall?
Are there systemic causes which led to the fatal shooting of Tom Hurndall and does responsibility for his death rest also with those higher up the chain of command?
A family friend and spokesman for the Tom Hurndall Foundation said: "This is a major step forward in our campaign to find out exactly how Tom died and who is responsible. The implications of getting access to this evidence are substantial. We took this to the Supreme Court when we discovered that promises from the Israeli Government of transparency and openness were ill founded."

He said: "Fourteen eye-witness statements gathered by the family, indicate that multiple shots were fired at a group of 20 children playing on a mound. Soldiers were firing above the heads and between the feet of the children - three of whom were frozen to the spot in terror. We have photographs of children fleeing from the shooting. In contrast the Israeli Army claims that there was a single shot – the shot that fatally wounded Tom Hurndall."

The trial in Israel, of Sgt Idier Wahid Taysir, who is facing six charges in connection with the killing of Tom Hurndall, is scheduled to resume on 11 th ,12 th August with additional dates scheduled on 22 nd August, 12 th & 23 rd September, 12 th & 28 th October and 18 th & 28 th November .

The charges for which Sgt Idier Wahid Taysir is currently indicted are manslaughter; two counts of obstruction of justice; incitement to false testimony; false testimony & improper conduct. He has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.

The trial is taking place at a Military Court within the Military base at Castina Junction in Ashkalon, near Tel Aviv.

The 19 year old brother of Tom Hurndall – Billy Hurndall, last month learned that he would not be allowed to enter Israel to attend the trial. In a letter from the Israeli Ministry of Interior, the family's lawyers were informed that Billy 'represented a security risk' to Israel and would not be allowed access into the country. Although the Ministry of Interior refused to give reason for this classification, it is understood that the refusal is based on Billy's visit to the Occupied Territories to meet members of the International Solidarity Movement following the incident last spring.

The family are outraged at this decision, which removes Billy's basic right to attend the trial of his brother's killer. They said "For Billy to attend the trial represents more than just the chance to see justice done, but a very real need to obtain some sort of closure in what has been a most horrific period in his life." The family plan to appeal this decision in the courts.

If you should require any further information please contact:

web@tomhurndall.co.uk
Avigdor Feldman Advocate
00972 3 5608833
Michael Sfard Advocate
00972 3560 7345 Email: michael@jurists.co.il

In memory of Rachel Corrie, Dr. Jack Shepard says, "When will we realise that there can't be this many "accidents"?

By Dr. Jack Shepard

In memory of Rachel Corrie
http://www.shepardusgov.com/RachelCorrie.html
1979 - 2003
Herald Tribune
Killed in Israel
Wednesday March 3, 2004
Killed in Israel
Only a year ago, the month of March would have held the same positive associations for me as it has for many - the beginning of the end of winter, the promise of springtime and even summer. This year, and for every year for the rest of my life, the approach of March will mean something else entirely - the anniversary of the brutal death of my cousin, Rachel Corrie. .On March 16, 2003, an Israeli soldier and his commander ran over Rachel with a nine-ton Caterpillar bulldozer while she stood - unarmed, clearly visible in her orange fluorescent jacket - protecting a Palestinian home slated for demolition by the Israeli army. .The death of Rachel Corrie, and the response that her case has - and has not - received, reveal several disturbing, indeed immoral and criminal, truths. First, Rachel died while attempting to prevent the demolition of a home, a common practice of the Israeli Army's collective punishment that has left more than 12,000 Palestinians homeless since the beginning of the second uprising in September 2000. This practice violates international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention. .Second, Rachel was run over by a Caterpillar bulldozer, manufactured in the United States and sent to Israel as part of the regular U.S. aid package to Israel, which amounts to $3 billion to $4 billion annually, all of it from U.S. taxpayers. The use of Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy civilian homes, not to mention to run over unarmed human rights activists, violates U.S. law, including the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the use of military aid against civilians. .Third, the self-acquittal of the Israeli army for Rachel's death and the resistance of the state of Israel to an independent investigation into this case reveals both the Sharon administration's unwillingness to take responsibility for the death of a U.S. citizen and the Bush administration's cowardice in allowing another nation to attack U.S. citizens with impunity. .Fourth, Rachel's death was in fact only the first of several Israeli attacks on foreign citizens in the West Bank and Gaza. Brian Avery, from New Mexico, was shot in the face on April 5; Tom Hurndall, a British citizen, was shot in the head on April 11 and died Jan. 13, and James Miller, another British citizen, was also shot and killed in April. To date, only in Hurndall's case will the Israeli soldier responsible for the attack face trial, and this is because the British government, after several months, finally responded to the overwhelming evidence presented by the Hurndall family. .As we approach March 16, residents and citizens of the United States should ask themselves how it is that an unarmed U.S. citizen can be killed with impunity by a soldier from an allied nation receiving massive U.S. aid, using a product manufactured in the United States by a U.S. corporation and paid for with U.S. tax dollars. When three Americans were killed, presumably by Palestinians, in an explosion on Oct. 15, 2003, as they traveled through Gaza, the FBI came within 24 hours to investigate the deaths. After one year, neither the FBI nor any other U.S.-led team has done anything to investigate the death of an American killed by an Israeli. .Why the double standard? Perhaps this reveals the most disturbing truth of all. .Elizabeth Corrie is an administrator and teacher in a school in Atlanta. ________________________________________________________________________ Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Our Place in the World: Still no justice for Rachel Corrie
By WENDY SMITH
GUEST COLUMNIST
Friday 23, 2004
Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old British peace activist, died last week in a London hospital. He was shot in the head by Israeli sniper fire nine months ago while shepherding Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip out of the line of fire. He had been in a coma since his injury. Hours before Hurndall died, the soldier who shot him was charged with aggravated assault. The charge is now likely to be revised to manslaughter or murder; British police are participating in an official investigation of his death.
Rachel Corrie from Olympia was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Rafah refugee camp about a month before Hurndall was shot there. Like Hurndall, Corrie was a volunteer with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to End the Occupation of Palestine (ISM). Like Hurndall, she was killed by an identifiable Israeli soldier. As in Hurndall's case, the Israeli government initially released a report on Corrie's killing, stating that nobody connected with the Israeli military was culpable and that further investigation was not required.
So, why has Hurndall's killer been charged when nothing has happened to Corrie's killer?
According to the Hurndall family, the only reason the soldier who shot him has been charged is because of pressure applied by the family. Hurndall's father is an attorney. He went to Rafah shortly after the shooting and compiled an extensive dossier of eyewitness affidavits, forensics reports, photographs and other relevant information. This dossier was put before the British foreign secretary in a way that made it very difficult to ignore. Ultimately, the British government went to bat for Hurndall, an unarmed British civilian killed by an Israeli soldier under the impression that he could shoot with impunity.
Indeed, the soldier had good reason to believe this. More than 2,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians, many of them children, have been killed in the occupied territories since the current intifada began in September 2000. Only 10 Israeli soldiers have been indicted and none has been convicted. A culture of impunity permeates the Israeli military, which is well known for its non-investigations of itself. For this reason, the Hurndall family would like to see the investigation of his death extend all the way up the chain of command.
Corrie's parents are not lawyers. In addition, they were told by members of the Washington state congressional delegation and State Department officials that if they quietly played along, justice for their daughter would ultimately be achieved. So far, all that has emerged is a non-credible Israeli military report claiming that 1) Corrie was not run over by a bulldozer and 2) even if she had been, the driver could not have seen her. These statements are contradicted respectively by the autopsy report and multiple eyewitness reports.
It is an insult to the human heart to have to force government officials to do their jobs properly while digesting the fact your child has been brutally killed.
Somehow the Hurndall family was able to take the necessary steps in the timeframe required. Believing what their congressman, senators and State Department officials told them, the Corries have been left to swallow lies.
Is this the best our members of Congress can do for a citizen killed abroad? Plenty of them made pretty speeches but real action is a question of political will.