London: Atheist campaigners are planning a
legal ambush to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested during his
state visit to Britain over his alleged cover-up of sexual
abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens argue
that the pope should be arrested when he visits Britain in
September and put on trial "for crimes against humanity".
The pair believe they can employ the same legal principle
used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator,
when he visited Britain in 1998.
The pope will be in Britain on September 16-19, visiting
London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal
John Henry Newman, a 19th century theologian.
The Vatican has suggested the pope is immune from
prosecution because he is a head of state.
But Dawkins and Hitchens insist the pope would be unable
to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his
tour is classed as a state visit, he is not the head of a
state recognised by the United Nations.
They have asked leading barrister Geoffrey Robertson and
Mark Stephens, a solicitor, to prepare a justification for
legal action.
Stephens said one option for Dawkins and Hitchens was to
apply to the International Criminal Court for a warrant.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 20:29