By Betul Yuruk
GENEVA
Lawyers representing the victims of the fatal 2010 Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara Turkish aid flotilla have said they will appeal against the decision by the International Criminal Court not to investigate the incident.
The declaration came on Friday a day after the ICC announced it would not investigate the military raid on the Mavi Marmara - a ship then in international waters as part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians - in which nine Turkish activists were killed.
"We are very disappointed with the decision and we will appeal against it," lawyer Rodney Dixon told Anadolu Agency.
" She [ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda] has to reconsider this matter. The decision is wrong in law and wrong on the facts," he said.
Dixon said that Israel's action were war crimes which needed to be investigated by the ICC.
'Setback for justice'
"As a matter of law, it is inconceivable that such a kind of incident cannot be serious enough for the international Criminal Court to investigate," he said.
Dixon warned that the court's decision would not act as a deterrent, but in the opposite way.
"It sends out signals that these kinds of acts will not be investigated and punished and that is a real setback for international justice," he added.
Meanwhile, Israel welcomed the decision not to open an investigation, saying the legal action had been "politically motivated".
The court's decision drew wide criticism from Turkish lawyers who accused the ICC of being "hypocritical".
Turkey has downgraded diplomatic relations with Israel and military relations have also been suspended since the 2010 attack.
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