By Joel Goldenberg

The Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights filed a massive brief Feb. 14 with the International Criminal Court in the Hague, accusing the terrorist group Hamas of war crimes against the hostages kidnapped during their Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

That attack resulted in the brutal murder of more than 1,200 people in Israel, and more than 250 people kidnapped, as well as thousands injured. More than 100 hostages remain. The more than 1,000-page brief includes evidence and legal analysis, as well as video evidence.

The brief “describes the perpetration of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Palestinian terrorists, including hostage-taking, enforced disappearance, torture and rape.” The group says the brief provides “compelling evidence to serve as a basis for issuing arrest warrants.”

Former federal Justice Minister and Mount Royal MP, and founder of the RWCHR Irwin Cotler said that “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad not only take Jews captive, but also hold Palestinians, peace activists and humanitarians hostage.

“These perpetrators are therefore not only the enemy of Jews, but also the enemy of Palestinians, and the enemy of peace and our common humanity. They must be held criminally accountable.”

The organization held a press conference Feb. 15 at the Hague. International human rights lawyer and RWCHR Director of Policy and Projects Brandon Silver, who is spearheading the case and has in the past helped secure the release of hostages and political prisoners around the world, told the press conference that “while motivated by the genocidal antisemitism expressed in the Hamas Charter, these crimes engage all of humanity. Those taken captive represent over 40 different nationalities, many different ethnicities, and a range of religions and beliefs.

“The most basic fundamental of human values and international norms were breached,” he added. “These crimes are still ongoing as we meet in this room today! The hostages are calling out for justice, and for the international community to take action! This case is not just about laws, but about human lives! If there was ever a case the ICC was meant to address, it is the heinous atrocities [of Hamas]!”

The RWCHR’s legal team is led by barrister Michelle Butler of Matrix Chambers, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, a leading international law firm “with extensive experience before the ICC, and the lawyers of Sullivan & Cromwell include former top anti-terrorism prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice.”

The brief was submitted “in partnership with the Families of Hostages and Missing Persons Forum, a volunteer-based Israeli civil society association representing the interests of the hostages.” n