Lebanese Artist Ali Cherri Files War Crimes Complaint Against Israel After 2024 Beirut Bombing
Lebanese artist Ali Cherri and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) filed a civil complaint on April 2 in France with the French War Crimes Unit, seeking an investigation into an Israeli bombing of a residential building in Beirut in November 2024 that killed seven civilians, including Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud and Nadira Cherri. The complaint cites analysis by Forensic Architecture and Amnesty International, including reported identification of remnants consistent with GBU-39 munitions, and argues the strike’s “targeted nature” could constitute a war crime because it hit a civilian object in the Noueiri neighborhood. Forensic Architecture’s reconstruction described destruction across four floors, including the ninth-floor apartment where Cherri’s parents lived, and also named the family’s domestic aide, Birki Negesa, among those affected. Cherri, who won the Silver Lion at the 59th Venice Biennale for works including “Titans” (2022) and “Of Men and Gods and Mud” (2022), said the filing aims to ensure accountability and prevent impunity.
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This story was covered in Record Sales, Restored Masterpieces, and War’s Shadow