International Criminal Court denies Qatari claims on boycott

CAIRO – 9 July 2017: The International Criminal Court (ICC) denied false news circulating by Qatari media on the court denouncing the decision by Arab states to boycott the Gulf country. The court announced Sunday that it did not issue any political statements on the ongoing crisis.

The Qatar Tribune published a news report stating that Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani met with the Chief Prosecutor of ICC Fatou Bensoula on Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha.

“Talks during the meeting dealt with the regional developments, especially in Syria and Libya,” the Qatar Tribune reported.

The published report claimed that Bensoula “expressed regret over the human rights violations relating to International Law and International Humanitarian Law arising” from the boycott and that it praised the Gulf state’s method in handling the crisis.

Four Arab states – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt – decided to boycott Qatar on June 5 for supporting and funding terrorism.

Libyan Military Spokesperson Ahmed el-Mesmary revealed in a press conference on July 5 the Qatari role in funding and providing weapons, ammunitions and training to terrorist militias in his country. El-Mesmary affirmed that his state would sue Qatar internationally for its crimes.