At last years’ annual shareholders meeting, Almanza announced that the company would not be renewing its contracts to provide equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints, police stations and a prison in the West Bank after 2015 but that G4S would continue its commercial relationship with prisons located inside Israel. It is possible that this latest change in position has come about due to a realisation by company officers that its commercial association with prisons located in Israel where Palestinians from the West Bank are being held may amount to aiding and abetting a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention which carries a maximum penalty under UK law of 30 years imprisonment. Further, the company’s involvement in the unlawful detention of Palestinians inside Israel may be placing in jeopardy the company’s ability to successfully tender for public contracts in the future. It should be noted that liability in this instance arises out of the geographical location of the prisons and is not dependent upon there being any evidence of ill-treatment.

 

Although this latest announcement has been met with cautious optimism in some quarters, it should be noted that an announcement by the CEO of a public company that the corporation intends to continue its commercial activities involving the unlawful detention of protected persons outside occupied territory for another three years may be considered to be an aggravating rather than mitigating circumstance in any future criminal or civil action.