Turkish lawyer who accused India of "war crimes in Kashmir" admits links to 'Qatargate' suspects

London, Mar 9: A prominent Turkish human rights legal consultant, who had accused India of "war crimes against Kashmiri Muslims", has admitted that he paid one of the suspects in the European Parliament corruption scandal for "ethical lobbying services" that included resolutions condemning war crimes in Syria and Yemen.

 

 

 

 

Hakan Camuz's UK-based law firm Stoke White had last year filed cases against top Indian officials, accusing them of "war crimes against Kashmiri Muslims". The firm had put up a "legal appeal" against the Indian Army Chief and Home Minister to London's Metropolitan Police following an investigative report on alleged "war crimes in Jammu and Kashmir." Hakan Camuz said that two of his groups entered "consultancy contracts" with a company linked to Francesco Giorgi, the assistant of Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP at the heart of the corruption scandal, for what he believed were "parliamentary services".

 

 

 

 

 

Camuz shared that he only spoke with Giorgi and believed the company was legitimate. Camuz, who is not under investigation and is not accused of wrongdoing, said the agreed "services" included facilitating meetings with other MEPs, public events in Brussels, parliamentary questions and securing EU funding for his charitable causes. The Financial Times reported that Giorgi has admitted to helping his boss use a web of companies to disguise payments from foreign governments including Qatar and Morocco, according to evidence from the investigation seen by the FT.

 

 

Camuz, a lawyer who has ties with the administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the case and denied any knowledge of wrongdoing by Giorgi and Panzeri. "The payments [from Camuz-related entities] were in return for petitions to condemn war crimes in Syria and the protection of refugees," the Financial Times wrote quoting Camuz, the lawyer who has good connections with the administration of Turkish President Erdogan. Giorgi also promised to help introduce resolutions condemning war crimes in Yemen, Camuz said. "Sadly, the results were very poor compared to what we talked about," he added.

 

 

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