A Democrat state lawmaker in Ohio said she is making a referral to the International Criminal Court to prosecute President Trump for “crimes against humanity” over his repeated endorsement of an anti-malarial drug many doctors are using to treat coronavirus.
State Rep. Tavia Galonski made the demand Sunday on Twitter after Trump once again praised hydroxychloroquine at his daily White House press briefing.
“I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow,” Galonski tweeted. “Today’s press conference was the last straw. I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one.”
“I need every lawyer that ever did any work on the international level to contact me at [email protected] immediately,” she added in a follow-up post. “When we worked on international custody cases we had a cadre of lawyers working on the case. Suit up!”
I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow. Today’s press conference was the last straw. I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one. https://t.co/XQin24gqY4
— Rep. Tavia Galonski (@RepGalonski) April 6, 2020
I need every lawyer that ever did any work on the international level to contact me at [email protected] immediately. When we worked on international custody cases we had a cadre of lawyers working on the case. Suit up! https://t.co/pkmF4cWGIQ
— Rep. Tavia Galonski (@RepGalonski) April 6, 2020
The Hague is the site of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has 123 nations as members — but not the United States. Only member states can make referrals, so Galonski will need some help from another country or the United Nations Security Council, which can also make referrals.
Under the ICC, “crimes against humanity” include murder, extermination, enslavement, torture, and “other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious bodily or mental injury.”
“Fox News asked Rep. Galonski if there is a specific crime she is accusing Trump of committing, and how she plans on pursuing charges given the United States’ non-member status,” Fox reported. “She did not immediately respond.”
Trump, who has twice tested negative for COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, told reporters gathered in the White House briefing room on Saturday that he may himself take hydroxychloroquine, which he has called a “game changer” for treating the virus.
“If it were me, in fact, I might do it anyway,” Trump said about the drug, normally used to treat malaria and lupus. “I may take it. OK? I may take it. And I’ll have to ask my doctors about that, but I may take it.”
“I just hope that hydroxychloroquine wins,” he said. “Is there a possibility? What do you have to lose?”
An international poll of more than 6,000 doctors finds that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine has been deemed the most highly rated treatment for the novel coronavirus.
The survey, conducted by Sermo, a global health care polling company, asked 6,227 physicians in 30 countries to find out what is the most effective against SARS-CoV-2. The poll finds that 37% of those treating patients suffering from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rated hydroxychloroquine as the “most effective therapy” out of a list of 15 choices.
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, emergency-use authorization, although many physicians were already using the drug.
Azithromycin, known by the brand name Zithromax or Z-Pak, came in as the second-most effective therapy at 32%, followed by “nothing.”
Hydroxychloroquine, which is sold under the brand name Plaquenil, was prescribed mainly in the United States for the most severe cases. “Outside the U.S., hydroxychloroquine was equally used for diagnosed patients with mild to severe symptoms whereas in the U.S. it was most commonly used for high risk diagnosed patients,” the survey found.
As many as 4,000 people in New York are currently being treated with hydroxychloroquine, the New York Post reports:
A state Health Department official said the [Department of Health] has shipped doses of hydroxychloroquine to 56 hospitals across New York, distributing enough “to treat 4,000 patients to date.” Patients have received doses as part of four- or 10-day regimens, officials said. The University of Albany’s School of Public Health is observing the drug’s impact on the patients, and its preliminary study could come back in weeks instead of the usual months, officials said.
