The International Criminal Court has requested that prosecutor Fatou Bensouda reopen a probe into the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, in which 10 Turkish activists died in clashes with Israeli forces on a ship attempting to break the Gaza blockade.
Bensouda said in November there would be no investigation leading to a prosecution, despite a “reasonable basis” to believe that war crimes were committed.
Bensouda said any potential cases arising from an investigation into the incident would not be of “sufficient gravity” to justify further ICC action.
But In January, Comoros, which filed the request to probe Israel, asked the chamber to reconsider.
In a statement issued by the ICC, a panel of three judges stated that the prosecutor “committed material errors in her determination of the gravity of the potential case.
“In particular, the Chamber identified material errors in the Prosecutor’s assessment of the possibility to prosecute those persons who may bear the greatest responsibility for the identified crimes committed during the seizure of the Mavi Marmara, as well as of the scale, nature, manner of commission and impact of the potential crimes,” the statement reads.
One judge, Péter Kovács, dissented on the request.
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