The announcement of a verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie, which was scheduled for late April, has been postponed due to delays in the filing of closing arguments. A new verdict date has not yet been scheduled by the court, but is likely to be months away.Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by an Israeli military Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian civilian homes in Rafah, Gaza.
The lawsuit, filed in 2005 by attorney Hussein abu Hussein on behalf of the Corrie family, charges the State of Israel with responsibility for Rachel’s killing. Oral testimony in the case began March 10, 2010. There have since been 15 court hearings at which 23 witnesses testified, producing more than 2,000 pages of court transcripts. While all witnesses for the Corrie family testified openly, including four activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who were at the site where Rachel was killed, most government witnesses were identified only by their initials, and several testified behind a screen.
Each hearing was attended by officials from the American Embassy, numerous observers from local and international legal and human rights organizations, and members of the Corrie family.
The last court hearing was July 10, 2011. At that time, Judge Oded Gershon set the schedule for both sides to present written summations and closing arguments and announced he would render a verdict April 23, 2012. Multiple delays in the summation process resulted in the postponement.
Scheduling updates will be posted to the Rachel Corrie Foundation website as soon as additional information is available.
Please visit the Trial Update page of the Rachel Corrie Foundation website for updates, last minute changes to the court schedule, and related trial information.
