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Belgium to Send General Franks Iraq Lawsuit to US
Sat May 17,10:38 AM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said on Saturday he would send a war crimes lawsuit filed in Belgium against the commander of U.S.-led forces in Iraq (news - web sites) to the United States next week.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this week by 19 Iraqis against U.S. General Tommy Franks and a U.S. Marine colonel over the use of cluster bombs and alleged U.S. attacks on ambulances and civilians during the war in Iraq.

Speaking a day before the country's federal election, Verhofstadt called the lawsuit an abuse of a controversial law that allows Belgian courts to try foreigners for war crimes and other human rights violations.

"The law leaves open the possibility of sending back the complaint to the United States and that is what I...aim to do," he said in an interview with local VTM television. "Next week, I will call for a cabinet meeting and...undo this abuse."

Sending the lawsuit to the United States would be seen helping ease tensions between Brussels and Washington after Belgium opposed the war in Iraq and obstructed NATO (news - web sites) efforts to boost Turkish defenses ahead of the war.

On Friday, the federal prosecutor's office said the prosecutor who received the lawsuit would likely recommend sending it to the United States.

A recent reform of the law allows Belgium to send a lawsuit to the defendant's country if that country has a legal system that guarantees to handle a complaint properly.

The reform was made to stem a flood of complaints against political figures clogging up Belgium's courts.

The highest profile case has been one against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), holding him responsible for the 1982 massacre by Israeli-backed Lebanese Christian militiamen in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut.

A more recent lawsuit against former U.S. George Bush senior and Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) for a missile attack on a Baghdad shelter that killed 400 people in the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites) has also strained relations between Belgium and the United States.

Despite Sunday's election, Verhofstadt remains leader of the caretaker government until a new one is formed.