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Amin to Be Sued for Woman’s Death

May 18, 1977
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If Uganda’s President Idi Amin comes to Britain for next month’s Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference, he will be sued in connection with the death of Mrs. Dora Bloch, the elderly captive who disappeared after the Entebbe hijack rescue. Legal action was announced here today on behalf of Ilan Hartuv, Mrs. Bloch’s eldest son, who lives in Jerusalem and who was traveling with her at the time.

Greville Janner MP, said that a writ to be served on Amin also names Major Farik Minawa, the alleged murderer of Mrs. Bloch. Hartuv, 50, claims in the writ that his mother’s death was caused “by the negligence or deliberate act or acts of the defendants, their servants or agents.”

Since the Entebbe rescue, Amin has claimed that Israel is responsible for Mrs. Bloch’s disappearance, even though witnesses claim to have seen her alive in a Kampala hospital after the Entebbe raid was over.

Janner, a vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and an eminent lawyer, said the writ against Amin was a “symbolic act” and an opportunity to raise the question of Mrs. Bloch’s death. Her family wanted no financial compensation. “All they want is the truth and her body back,” Janner said.

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