Kenyan Lawyer Sues Isreal, Italy, Pilate, Herod Over Jesus’ Death

Former Kenyan Judiciary spokesman Dola Indidis is suing Israel, Italy, King Herod, Pontius Pilate, various Jewish “wise men” and the Roman Emperor Tiberius for what he considers an illegal trial which “violated Jesus’ human rights”. Indidis has also has petitioned the International Court of Justice in The Hague to annul the trial and death sentence against Jesus Christ, nearly 2000 years ago, which the Holy Bible records had to happen as atonement for the sins of the world. “I filed the case because it’s my duty to uphold the dignity of Jesus and I have gone to the ICJ to seek justice for the man from Nazareth,” Indidis told The Nairobian, a Kenyan newspaper.“Evidence today is on record in the Bible, and you cannot discredit the Bible,” the lawyer told a Kenyan website Citizen News. After failing to convince the Kenyan High Court in Nairobi 2007 to hear the case, Indidis decided to turn to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, even though the institution only rules on territorial disputes between member states of the United Nations. It’s unclear whether Indidis’s petition has actually been in the Peace Palace, headquarters of the ICJ. According to an ICJ spokesperson, quoted by the AFP news agency, “it’s not even theoretically possible for the court to do the case”. The lawyer’s petition is based on the interrogation Jesus was submitted to during his trial. The evidence was inconsistent, argues the lawyer, and Christ was tortured during the pre-trial phase. “His selective and malicious prosecution violated his human rights through judicial misconduct, abuse of office bias and prejudice”, he argues. Jesus of Nazareth was accused of blasphemy against the Jewish religion and sedition, according to Roman law. He was tried on the first count by Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest while the second count was heard by Pontius Pilate, when Judea was an autonomous region within the Roman Empire. Indidis apparently named the states of Italy and Israel in the lawsuit because upon the attainment of independence, the two states incorporated the laws of the Roman Empire, those in force at the time of the crucifixion. He is challenging the mode of questioning used during Jesus’s trial, prosecution, hearing and sentencing; the form of punishment meted out to Him while undergoing judicial proceedings and the substance of the information used to convict Him. Indidis says he wants to establish what crime Jesus was charged with and prays that the court decides “that the proceedings before the Roman courts were a nullity in law, for they did not conform to the rule of law at the material time and any time thereafter.” “Some of those present spat in His face, struck Him with their fists, slapped Him, taunted Him, and pronounced Him worthy of death,” Indidis told the Kenyan news website Standard Media (SDE). When Jesus died, Indidis insists, He was not given an opportunity to be heard. “I am suing as a friend,” he said. Indidis insisted on the validity of his case, saying: “I know with a matter of fact and truth we have a good case with a high probability of success and I hope it is done in my lifetime.” But legal expert, Anthea Roberts, professor of law at Columbia Law School told time.com that he does not believe that Indidis will have much success at The Hague. Indidis has also created a Facebook page on which he asks for donations in support of his cause.