frankherbert
07-04-2006, 00:53
A BRITISH cameraman was murdered by an Israeli soldier who deliberately targeted him while he was filming Palestinian children in a refugee camp, an inquest jury decided yesterday.
James Miller’s widow, Sophy, burst into tears as the jury at St Pancras Coroner’s Court, in London, brought in a unanimous verdict and criticised the Israeli authorities for refusing properly to investigate her husband’s killing in May 2003.
The award-winning cameraman was shot at close range by a soldier from the Israeli Defence Force in the Rafah refugee camp. He was said to have been trying to ask the soldiers if it was safe to leave.
In April last year an Israeli investigation cleared a soldier of misusing firearms. Since then Mr Miller’s family and friends have been campaigning for a new inquiry into his death.
After yesterday’s verdict, the family said that they wanted to meet Tony Blair, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, to urge them to bring a prosecution against the soldier involved. Their solicitor, Louise Christian, said that the soldier, named as Lieutenant Heib, could be prosecuted under the Geneva Convention.
The family are also demanding an investigation of the commanding officer and other soldiers in the unit whom they accuse of “lying and perverting the course of justice, and tampering with evidence”.
Andrew Reid, the coroner, said that he would write to the Foreign Secretary about the case. He had told the jury that the only possible verdict they could return was that of unlawful killing. But he said that they had to decide whether Mr Miller had been murdered or was a victim of manslaughter.
After an hour of deliberation, the ten-strong jury decided that Mr Miller had been deliberately shot.
After delivering the verdict, the jury spokeswoman added: “It is a fact that from Day 1 of this inquest the Israeli authorities have not been forthcoming in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Miller’s death.”
Detective Inspector Robert Anderson told the inquest that the Israelis had been uncooperative during the investigation by refusing Scotland Yard access to key witnesses, including the soldiers involved in the shooting. He said it was clear that Mr Miller posed no threat to the troops, nor had there been firing from the Palestinian camp directed at the soldiers, as the Israeli authorities had claimed.
After the verdict, Kim Howells, a Foreign Office minister, said: “The verdict of unlawful killing does not come as a surprise to me. The British Government has consistently pressed the Israelis at all levels to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation.
“We are disappointed that the military police investigation did not recommend an indictment and that no one has been held to account for James’s death.”
The Israeli Embassy later issued a statement saying: “After a very thorough investigation using laboratories in Israel and abroad and after reviewing all the available evidence, it was not possible to reach a reliable conclusion that could provide a basis for proceedings under criminal law.”
Mrs Miller, 35, said: “It was wholly overwhelming, hearing the unanimous verdict that James had been murdered, and finally hearing it after three years.”
Mr Miller’s film, Death in Gaza, won three Emmy awards last year.
Times
James Miller’s widow, Sophy, burst into tears as the jury at St Pancras Coroner’s Court, in London, brought in a unanimous verdict and criticised the Israeli authorities for refusing properly to investigate her husband’s killing in May 2003.
The award-winning cameraman was shot at close range by a soldier from the Israeli Defence Force in the Rafah refugee camp. He was said to have been trying to ask the soldiers if it was safe to leave.
In April last year an Israeli investigation cleared a soldier of misusing firearms. Since then Mr Miller’s family and friends have been campaigning for a new inquiry into his death.
After yesterday’s verdict, the family said that they wanted to meet Tony Blair, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, to urge them to bring a prosecution against the soldier involved. Their solicitor, Louise Christian, said that the soldier, named as Lieutenant Heib, could be prosecuted under the Geneva Convention.
The family are also demanding an investigation of the commanding officer and other soldiers in the unit whom they accuse of “lying and perverting the course of justice, and tampering with evidence”.
Andrew Reid, the coroner, said that he would write to the Foreign Secretary about the case. He had told the jury that the only possible verdict they could return was that of unlawful killing. But he said that they had to decide whether Mr Miller had been murdered or was a victim of manslaughter.
After an hour of deliberation, the ten-strong jury decided that Mr Miller had been deliberately shot.
After delivering the verdict, the jury spokeswoman added: “It is a fact that from Day 1 of this inquest the Israeli authorities have not been forthcoming in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Miller’s death.”
Detective Inspector Robert Anderson told the inquest that the Israelis had been uncooperative during the investigation by refusing Scotland Yard access to key witnesses, including the soldiers involved in the shooting. He said it was clear that Mr Miller posed no threat to the troops, nor had there been firing from the Palestinian camp directed at the soldiers, as the Israeli authorities had claimed.
After the verdict, Kim Howells, a Foreign Office minister, said: “The verdict of unlawful killing does not come as a surprise to me. The British Government has consistently pressed the Israelis at all levels to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation.
“We are disappointed that the military police investigation did not recommend an indictment and that no one has been held to account for James’s death.”
The Israeli Embassy later issued a statement saying: “After a very thorough investigation using laboratories in Israel and abroad and after reviewing all the available evidence, it was not possible to reach a reliable conclusion that could provide a basis for proceedings under criminal law.”
Mrs Miller, 35, said: “It was wholly overwhelming, hearing the unanimous verdict that James had been murdered, and finally hearing it after three years.”
Mr Miller’s film, Death in Gaza, won three Emmy awards last year.
Times