PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 13, 2025
The Merchants of Death Tribunal’s final report will be released on January 15, 2025, the actual birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at a 9 a.m. international zoom video press conference that can be accessed by registering here: https://actionnetwork.org/
Contacts: Brad Wolf Tribunal23@merchantsofdeath.
Kathy Kelly Kathy.vcnv@gmail.com 773 619 2418
Nick Mottern nickmottern@gmail.com 914 806 6179
MERCHANTS OF DEATH TRIBUNAL CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES
PROSECUTION OF LEADING U.S. WEAPONS INDUSTRY CEOs.
The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal will issue its final report at a Jan. 15, 2025 zoom press conference, with the staff offering to help prosecutors around the world to convict the CEOs of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX/Raytheon and drone maker General Atomics for aiding the U.S. government in committing war crimes and genocide since 9/11.
“We are making this offer,” said Brad Wolf, a former prosecutor and Tribunal staff member, “because these individuals who have enabled the U.S. government in the commission of horrific crimes, for immense profit, are not likely to be prosecuted by the U.S. government.”
The tribunal offer to aid prosecutors internationally is based on the finding of guilt of the CEOs by an international 10-person jury that viewed thirty-five video evidentiary episodes and other documentation prepared by the tribunal staff over a nearly three-year period. The tribunal jury finding, which applies to CEOs of the defendant corporations dating back to the bombing, invasion, and occupation of Afghanistan in October 2001, says:
“The jurors of this Tribunal conclude that the aforementioned current and former executives of the four defendants aided and abetted war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, as well as other IHL (International Human Rights Law) principles, with large scale sales of their weapons, generating enormous profits for their companies.”
The recommended prosecutions would be based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which was used to arrest and jail former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998. This principle allows national governments to prosecute individuals for serious crimes against international law, regardless of where the crimes are committed.
The tribunal report makes twelve additional recommendations, including steps to: eliminate the profit motive from weapons production; provide funding for reparations for individuals and communities harmed by the U.S. since 9/11; prohibit war funding through borrowing; and taxing international U.S. corporations for overseas U.S. military operations.
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