The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a disciplinary complaint against a German Senior Federal Public Prosecutor for dismissing a criminal complaint against a German-Israeli IDF soldier.
The HRF claimed that the "unjustified dismissal" shielded soldier Shimon Avichai Zuckerman from genocide charges.
HRF first filed a criminal complaint against Zuckerman, a member of the 8219th Battalion, in June 2025. The allegations against Zuckerman mainly focus on the destruction of buildings in Gaza.
Zuckerman reportedly documented his involvement in the demolition of Gaza through multiple video montages, posted on social media, showing him preparing explosive charges, counting down to detonations, and proudly observing the destruction of buildings he had rigged.
Germany has a duty to investigate and prosecute its own citizens for international crimes
HRF claimed that, under Section 1 of Germany's Code of Crimes against International Law (VStGB), the German state has a mandatory, non-discretionary duty to investigate and prosecute its own citizens for international crimes committed anywhere in the world.
However, the German Federal Public Prosecutor dismissed the case on 8 April 2026. HRF subsequently filed an appeal against the decision and submitted a new 164-page investigative report detailing Zuckerman's alleged criminal conduct.
It has now also filed a complaint against the Federal Public Prosecutor's decision to close the case without investigation, which HRF says violates the principle of legality (Legalitätsprinzip) and the principle of official investigation (Offizialmaxime).
"By accepting a suspect's self-serving narrative as the basis for dismissal, the Prosecutor has abdicated the state's duty to uncover the truth and transformed the Federal Prosecutor's office from a guardian of justice into a shield for genocide," the organization said.
HRF also said the case dismissal represents a "deliberate act of state complicity."
"Zuckerman is not merely a suspect; he is a German citizen who is fully aware of his alleged crimes and has openly called upon the Israeli state to shield him from prosecution. By accepting his claims without independent verification and refusing to initiate an investigation, German authorities are effectively acting as an extension of that shield."
Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director of the HRF, said: "The Federal Prosecutor has reduced the German legal system to a farce by accepting the unverified claims of a suspect accused of genocide."
"Zuckerman is a German citizen who is openly calling for protection from the Israeli state, and Germany is complying. This is not justice. It is state-sponsored impunity."
Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF, said the organization has "proof" of Zuckerman's German nationality and "evidence of his crimes" and therefore that the Federal Prosecutor's refusal to act "breaches the most fundamental duties of the German state. We are filing criminal complaints against Zuckerman and his unit again in Germany and across the globe. They will not get away with this. Germany must choose: stand with the law, or stand with the perpetrators.”
HRF issued the following demands: an immediate criminal investigation into Zuckerman under Sections 6, 7, 9, and 11 of the VStGB; an arrest warrant for him; and disciplinary sanctions on the Senior Public Prosecutor who dismissed the complaint for breach of official duties.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to the Public Prosecutor for comment.