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Tag: 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade

Chilean court reopens case against soldier accused of Gaza war crimes
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Rom Kovtun, who served as a sniper during the Al-Shifa Hospital operation, is facing allegations of war crimes and Gaza genocide in Chilean courts. [Photo source –The Hind Rajab Foundation]
by Eman Abusidu EmAbusidu
A recent judicial ruling in Chile has revived scrutiny of a criminal complaint against an Israeli-Ukrainian soldier accused of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, reviving a legal debate over the application of universal jurisdiction in the country.
The Santiago Court of Appeals overturned a prior ruling by the Eighth Guarantee Court, which had refused to examine the complaint against Rom Kovtun. The appellate court ruled that the question of jurisdiction cannot be decided without hearing all parties involved.
A public hearing is scheduled for 12th June, where the complainant, the defence, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office will present arguments on whether Chilean courts have the authority to investigate alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed abroad.
The complaint was filed in February by the Hind Rajab Foundation through Chilean lawyer Pablo Andrés Araya Zacarías. It seeks Kovtun´s investigation under Chilean Law No. 20.357, which criminalises genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, in line with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
According to the complaint, Kovtun served as a sniper in the 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade and operated under the 401st Armored Brigade during military operations in Gaza. He is accused of participating in the siege and destruction of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City between March and April 2024. The operation reportedly caused extensive damage to medical infrastructure and civilian casualties, including patients and hospital staff.
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Legal experts and human rights advocates caution that the Court of Appeals’ decision does not confirm the allegations or rule on the merits of the case. Its purpose is limited to determining whether Chilean courts have jurisdiction to examine the complaint. The outcome of the June hearing will decide whether Chile proceeds with a formal criminal investigation or dismisses the case as outside its jurisdiction.
READ: Director of ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ declines award at Berlin event
Chilean lawyer and former ambassador Nelson Hadad highlighted the lack of legal consistency in Chile regarding universal jurisdiction. “This issue lacks consistent jurisprudence; that is, in most cases, the Chilean judiciary has rejected the principle of universal jurisdiction and the extraterritorial application of the law,” he said.
Regarding the upcoming hearing, Hadad noted, “In this case, there is a hearing scheduled for 10th June in which… will there be a ruling on this matter? It could perhaps be the first time.”
He emphasised the cautious approach of the judiciary and prosecutorial authorities. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary as such accept some arguments to be able to prosecute in Chile this Israeli soldier responsible for numerous crimes,” Hadad explained.
At the same time, he highlighted past reluctance from Chilean authorities. “But I believe that the Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially the North Central Prosecutor’s Office where Prosecutor Armendariz is, has been consistently reluctant to accept universal jurisdiction,” he said.
Looking ahead, Hadad stressed the potential impact of a favorable ruling. “We are waiting to see what happens because if it were the opposite and it were accepted, it would set a very important legal precedent for trying numerous cases from Chile with the Chilean justice system, crimes committed abroad, in this case, crimes committed in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine.”
He concluded with cautious optimism: “So we can talk again on 10th June, once the court has ruled on this point. But at least there is hope.”
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Group Seeks Chilean Prosecution of IDF Sniper Rom Kovtun Over Gaza Hospital Siege
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Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Israel Defense Forces soldier Rom Kovtun looks away from the scope of his sniper rifle in this undated photo.(Photo by Hind Rajab Foundation)
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed the complaint, citing universal jurisdiction and Chile’s law against genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
A Brussels-based human rights group on Monday filed a criminal complaint in Chile seeking the prosecution of an Israel Defense Forces sniper accused of taking part in the deadly 2024 siege and destruction of Gaza’s largest hospital.
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF)—named after the young Palestinian girl who was killed in January 2024 along with six relatives and two rescue workers by IDF troops in Gaza City—said it filed the complaint in the 8th Guarantee Court in Santiago, the Chilean capital, requesting investigation and prosecution of Rom Kovtun, an Israeli Ukrainian sniper in the 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade, under Chilean Law 20.357.
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The law criminalizes genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), which in 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged murder and forced starvation in Gaza.
HRF’s complaint was formally submitted by Chilean lawyer Pablo Andrés Araya Zacarías, a partner at Silva-Riesco Abogados. The filing invokes universal jurisdiction—the legal principle empowering states to investigate and prosecute individuals for heinous crimes regardless of where they occurred—based on Kovtun’s presence in Chile and Israel’s refusal to prosecute him.
According to the complaint, Kovtun took part in the March-April 2024 siege and attack on al-Shifa Hospital in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. The World Health Organization said at least 21 patients were killed during attacks on the facility, while Gaza officials claimed the toll was much higher.
Survivors and witnesses said IDF troops executed civilians during the raid on al-Shifa, including 13 children. The IDF denied the allegations. Doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers were also abducted and allegedly tortured by their IDF captors. Israeli claims that Hamas fighters were using al-Shifa as a command center were subsequently debunked as lies.
Hundreds of Palestinian bodies—some with bound limbs and signs of torture and execution—were found outside the hospital after IDF troops withdrew from the area, although it is not known if they were all killed there.
“The targeting and destruction of a functioning hospital during a military siege strike at the core of international humanitarian law,” HRF general director Dyab Abou Jahjah said on Monday. “When evidence indicates that a sniper participated in such an operation, domestic courts cannot look away. Universal jurisdiction exists to ensure that the most serious crimes do not go unexamined simply because they were committed abroad.”
The @hindrajabfoundation.be has filed a complaint in 🇨🇱 #Chile, seeking investigation and prosecution of sniper Rom Kovtun for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The filing details his alleged participation in the siege and destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital.→ https://bit.ly/4tF1EJt
— The Hind Rajab Foundation (@hindrajabfoundation.be) 2026-02-16T20:27:28.387883Z
HRF head of litigation Natacha Bracq said that “international humanitarian law grants special protection to hospitals, medical personnel, and the wounded.”
“The encirclement and destruction of a functioning medical complex, combined with the deprivation of food, water, and medical care, are not collateral damage—they constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide,” she added.
Israel is facing a genocide case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has issued multiple provisional orders for Israel to avoid genocidal acts in Gaza. Critics say Israel has ignored the orders.
Chile embraced universal jurisdiction in the decades following the fall of the US-backed military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, whose 1998 arrest in London for crimes against humanity stemmed from an international warrant issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón based on universal jurisdiction.
HRF, which was founded in the Belgian capital in September 2024, has filed numerous legal complaints targeting alleged IDF war criminals. In one case, Israel helped an IDF soldier targeted by the group while vacationing in Brazil to flee the country in order to avoid arrest.
In October 2024, HRF filed what it called an “unprecedented” complaint at the ICC—which, like the ICJ, is located in The Hague, Netherlands—against 1,000 IDF troops accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza. One year later, HRF filed another ICC complaint against 24 IDF members allegedly involved in the killing of Hind Rajab, her relatives, and two paramedics.
While there have been no known prosecutions of any individuals targeted by HRF, last May Peru formally opened a probe into “an Israeli national accused of participating in the genocide in Gaza.”
Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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Tag: 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade

Chilean court reopens case against soldier accused of Gaza war crimes

Group Seeks Chilean Prosecution of IDF Sniper Rom Kovtun Over Gaza Hospital Siege

The Hind Rajab Foundation filed the complaint, citing universal jurisdiction and Chile’s law against genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

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