Justice plea for Gaza film-maker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/6614817.stm

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The family of a Devon film-maker killed in Gaza has called on Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to decide on his case and prosecute those responsible.

James Miller was shot by a soldier from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) four years ago while filming a refugee camp.

An Israeli inquiry cleared a soldier of firearms misuse but a UK inquest later ruled Mr Miller was murdered.

A spokesman for Lord Goldsmith said more information on the case was still being gathered.

The spokesman said the attorney general was continuing to consider whether any prosecution could be brought under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.

Lord Goldsmith began a fact-finding mission into the death last year to see if there was enough evidence to bring war crimes charges against the IDF soldier.

'Utterly shameful'

Mr Miller had been making a film about Palestinian children in the Rafah refugee camp.

The 34-year-old was trying to ask the soldiers if it was safe to leave the area when he was fatally wounded in the neck.

An inquest jury in London in April 2006 found the film-maker had been deliberately shot and returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of James Miller's death, his family said they were still waiting for "some measure of justice to be served".

"The undue delay in the length of time the Israeli authorities have taken to acknowledge responsibility when a crime is known to have been committed is utterly shameful and a disgrace," the statement said.

"We look to the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to make public his decision on James's case and to proceed with prosecutions of those responsible in the UK."

An Israeli investigation in April 2005 cleared First Lt Heib of misusing firearms.

Israeli military prosecutors have said no further prosecutions will take place without fresh evidence.