The first trial session of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his foreign minister Shimon Peres started in Beirut on Wednesday to look into charges against them of perpetrating massacres in Lebanon.
Hatim Madi, Chief Investigating Magistrate of Beirut, heard the testimony of the first witness, Palestinian Ammouna Younis. Younis told the court what she had witnessed in the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres, according to a Lebanese judicial source quoted in news reports.
Younis described for the judge how she saw Sharon, who was stationed 20 meters from her house, observe details of the massacre in the Palestinian camp with binoculars, reported the Kuwaiti official news agency (KUNA). Younis also stated that Sharon was speaking via a wireless device from his vantage point.
Younis' lawyer Mai al-Khansaa was present at the trial. Plaintiff Fareedah George Juha did not attend the trial because she is currently outside the country.
The number of plaintiffs in the case has now reached 21. The source added that the second session would be on April 21 to hear the testimony of Hussein Abbas Ismail, another survivor of the massacres.
In the years since 1982, many have accused Sharon, who was then Defense Minister of Israel, of having overall responsibility for the massacres. An Israeli commission of inquiry forced him to resign his government post at the time. However, the trial in Lebanon may now be bringing to light evidence that Sharon was directly involved in the massacres.
While the trial continues in Beirut, Sharon is also facing the possibility of another trial in Belgium, where judges are currently considering charges of war crimes against him. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
