'Democracy for the Arab World Now' asks ICC investigate Biden, Blinken for war crimes in Gaza
For the first time in history, a US-based organization has formally requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate a former US president for potential complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) has submitted a 172-page request to the ICC, urging an investigation into former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for allegedly aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
The filing, known as an Article 15 communication, outlines how US officials continued to provide military and diplomatic support to Israel despite being aware that their assistance was being used in the commission of alleged war crimes. The ICC has already issued warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their roles in Gaza, and DAWN argues that US officials meet the legal criteria for "aiding and abetting" such crimes.
War crimes prosecutor and DAWN board member Reed Brody highlighted the significance of this case, stating: "This case might face political pushback, but that doesn’t change the message it sends: impunity isn’t a given. If the rule of law is supposed to mean anything, it has to apply across the board – not just to our enemies, but to our friends, and yes, to ourselves."
The organization contends that US support to Israel included the transfer of at least $17.9 billion in weapons, intelligence sharing, and targeting assistance. The US also abstained from, voted against, and vetoed multiple United Nations resolutions that called for a ceasefire, a hostage deal, or increased humanitarian aid over the course of 15 months. Additionally, the Biden administration repeatedly bypassed congressional review to send weapons to Israel, including those allegedly used in war crimes, such as the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab.
The filing states: "By continuously and unconditionally providing Political Support and Military Support to Israel while being fully aware of the specific crimes committed by Netanyahu, Gallant and their subordinates, President Biden, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin contributed intentionally to the commission of those crimes while at least knowing the intention of the group to commit the Israeli Crimes, if not aiming of furthering such criminal activity."
Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director, condemned the actions of the Biden administration, stating: "Not only did Biden, Blinken, and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel’s grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities."
Despite mounting evidence and international criticism, the Biden administration has consistently defended its policy towards Israel, often reiterating that "Israel has a right to defend itself." While officials claimed that no civilian loss was acceptable and that they were urging Israel to improve its conduct, the administration took little tangible action to apply pressure. In May, the US State Department admitted that Israel had "likely" used American arms in violation of international law, but no policy changes were implemented. Instead, the administration argued that "a country’s overall commitment" to international law "is not necessarily disproven by individual violations, so long as that country is taking appropriate steps to investigate and, where appropriate, determine accountability."
In addition to Biden, Blinken, and Austin, DAWN's filing also names former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as officials who should be investigated for possible culpability in Israel's actions in Gaza. DAWN originally submitted the request last month on the same day a ceasefire took effect, but it was made public on Monday. The filing is backed by ICC-registered lawyers and war crimes experts.
While neither the US nor Israel is a member of the ICC, DAWN asserts that the court has jurisdiction, citing its ongoing investigation into alleged violations of the Rome Statute in Palestine.
DAWN’s submission is part of a growing wave of legal actions addressing the US-backed Israeli military campaign in Gaza. In December, Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans filed a federal lawsuit against Blinken, accusing him of failing to enforce the Leahy Law, which prohibits the US from providing military aid to foreign security forces engaged in gross human rights violations.
Internationally, several countries, including Spain, Ireland, and Belgium, have joined a South Africa-led case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of genocide. The ICJ has already issued an interim ruling ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide, though Israel has reportedly continued its military operations without significant restraint.
Additionally, last year, a coalition of human rights organizations, Gaza residents, and US citizens with family members affected by the Israeli assault filed a lawsuit against Biden, Blinken, and Austin for failing to "prevent an unfolding genocide." Though a federal judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, the judge was critical of the Biden administration, stating that it was "plausible" that Israel’s conduct amounted to genocide and calling on the White House "to examine the results of their unflagging support of the military siege against the Palestinians in Gaza."
In its filing, DAWN also raised concerns over potential future violations, particularly pointing to former President Donald Trump's past actions. It highlighted Trump's executive order imposing sanctions on ICC officials and his proposed plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that these moves could make Trump liable for "obstruction of justice" as well as "war crimes and the crime of aggression." DAWN asserts that these actions warrant an ICC investigation.
Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director, emphasized the importance of accountability, stating: "This filing is a message to our fellow Americans: our government has been complicit in genocide, and we all bear a responsibility to confront that reality and hold our officials accountable. This is about more than Palestine; this is about whether we, as Americans, accept a system where our leaders can facilitate mass atrocities without consequences."
As legal and political debates unfold, DAWN’s filing marks a historic attempt to hold US officials accountable for their role in supporting Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The ICC’s response to this request could set a precedent for international justice, determining whether powerful nations can be subjected to the same scrutiny as others when it comes to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This report was originally published by Zeteo.com and has been rewritten by Vartha Bharati.
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Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
