Charges filed Lawyers want to drag Cassis before an international criminal court

A group of lawyers has filed charges against Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis with the International Criminal Court. They accuse the Swiss Foreign Minister of having contributed to the continuation of alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip through his political actions.

A complaint has been filed against Ignazio Cassis at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 25 lawyers, mostly from French-speaking Switzerland, accuse the Swiss Foreign Minister of complicity in alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

The complaint is backed by the Stop Complicity association, which is supported by several former Swiss diplomats, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. Among the signatories are former FDFA Secretary General Thomas Litscher, former ambassador Jean-Daniel Ruch and Jean-Daniel Vigny, long-time Swiss human rights representative to the UN.

In the 34-page petition, Cassis is accused of having contributed politically, diplomatically and economically to Israel's actions despite warnings from international courts and organizations. Specifically, the authors speak of aiding and abetting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Cassis alleged to have committed serious violations of international law

Thomas Litscher is particularly harsh in the statement. He had "not the slightest doubt" that Cassis was partly responsible for the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank through his political, diplomatic and moral support. It goes on to say that if international humanitarian law is to regain the status that Switzerland has ascribed to it since Henri Dunant, political leaders must also be held accountable.

The complaint also accuses Mr. Cassis of having facilitated the continuation of serious violations of international law by deliberate omission. The authors argue that Switzerland's military and security cooperation with Israel played a central role in this.

The Swiss Foreign Minister is not the only European government representative against whom such a complaint has been filed. Similar legal action against politicians in France and Italy is explicitly cited by the association as a model.

The complaint represents the preliminary culmination of months of ongoing criticism of Cassis. Dozens of former diplomats from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs had already criticized his stance on the Middle East conflict in an open letter in the summer of 2025. FDFA employees also voiced internal criticism.

Cassis himself has so far refrained from unilaterally blaming Israel for the military action in the Gaza Strip in public statements. A statement from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on the complaint was not initially available.