The Swiss prosecutor confirmed the filing but did not want to reveal details on the nature and number of complaints.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog faces criminal charges during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swiss prosecutors have confirmed, as Israel finds itself accused of committing war crimes in Gaza.
“Criminal complaints will be examined according to the usual procedure,” the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Friday, adding that it would contact the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs to examine the question of the immunity of the individual concerned.
In theory, third countries do not have criminal jurisdiction over current heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers of other countries.
The reasons for the complaints and who filed them were not specified.
A spokesperson for Herzog’s office did not comment on the Swiss prosecutor’s statement, saying only that Herzog had traveled to Davos to present Israel’s position on the situation in Gaza.
The AFP news agency obtained a statement believed to have been issued by the people behind the complaint, titled “Judicial actions against crimes against humanity.” Several anonymous people have filed complaints with the federal prosecutor’s office and the cantonal authorities of Basel, Bern and Zurich.
The statement said the plaintiffs were seeking to pursue criminal charges alongside a case brought before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in its Gaza offensive.
While the ICJ could take years to issue a final verdict, South Africa has asked the court to order “provisional measures” – a temporary order for Israel to end the war – while the case is in progress.
Israel called South Africa’s accusations “baseless” and a “murderous smear.”
Universal jurisdiction
The reasons for the complaints filed with the Swiss prosecutor are unclear, said James Bays, Tel Aviv Tribune’s diplomatic editor. They could relate to something that happened in Switzerland while Herzog was attending the Davos summit, he explained, or they could relate to previous statements Herzog made about the Palestinians, which also were cited by the South African legal team in The Hague when presenting their case.
Days after October 7 – when Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people – Israel’s president said it was not just Hamas fighters but ” an entire nation” that was responsible for the violence and that Israel would fight “until we break their spine.”
After the Hamas attack, Israel launched a fierce bombardment of Gaza that killed more than 24,500 people, 70 percent of them women and children, according to the United Nations.
If prosecuted, such a case filed in a Swiss court would be handled under “universal jurisdiction”, William Shabas, professor of international criminal law and human rights at Middlesex University in the Kingdom, told Tel Aviv Tribune -United.
In international law, universal jurisdiction is based on the principle that certain crimes are so serious that their perpetrators must be prosecuted across borders. This means that states or international organizations can file complaints against people, regardless of their nationality or where the alleged crime was committed. Such cases are usually linked to international crimes.
“Previously this was extremely rare, but increasingly, especially in European countries, there is an effort to prosecute such crimes – the crime of genocide, war crimes, etc., using universal jurisdiction” , Shabas said.
“The obstacle would be the so-called immunity of the president of a country – that would be a real problem,” he added.
Addressing the question of immunity, the press release consulted by AFP suggests that it could be lifted “in certain circumstances”, notably in cases of alleged crimes against humanity, adding that “these conditions are met in this case” .
Another hurdle for the prosecutor, Shabas said, would be obtaining “some level of political approval.”