Francis Boyle

Francis Anthony Boyle (born 1950) is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School. He also received a Ph. D. in political science from Harvard University.

Between 1988 and 1992 Boyle was a member of the board of Amnesty International USA. However, Boyle concluded that Amnesty's coverage of the human rights violations of certain countries was biased. An example that he provided was AI's stance during and after the 2002 Jenin massacre where AI was instrumental in undermining the establishment of a UN commission of enquiry. Boyle also noted that AI was instrumental in publicizing the "Iraqi soldiers dumping children from incubators in Kuwait" hoax [Dennis Bernstein, [http://www.corkpsc.org/db.php?aid=4573 Interview with Francis Boyle] , CovertAction Information Bulletin, 2002] . In 1992, Boyle threatened to sue AI on the basis of reporting bias, but the lawsuit was settled out of court.

From 1991 to 1993, Boyle was a legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Boyle is currently a member of the Nobel Peace Prize for Governor George H. Ryan Committee.

Professor Boyle is a controversial figure at the University of Illinois. He advocated for warmer US relations with Libya in the 1990s, and speaks fondly of his interactions with Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. Professor Boyle has also made comments about the Middle East, accusing Israel of committing "Nuremberg offenses" against the Palestinians, an allusion to the actions of Nazi Germany.

Boyle has also taken a strong stand in favor of Hawaiian independence, and in support of this effort uses a resolution signed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton apologizing for U.S. involvement in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Locally, Boyle is outspoken against a University of Illinois "pub crawl" which celebrates Saint Patrick's Day days prior to March 17th. This "celebration" consists of excess drinking as well as increased vandalism on campus, which Boyle argues is offensive to persons of Irish nationality.Fact|date=June 2008

In 2002, Boyle protested a speech by Ruth Wedgwood, a law professor performing consulting work for the Bush administration, by equating her advocacy of military tribunals in the War on Terror to kangaroo courts. He appeared with an individual dressed in an anthropomorphic kangaroo costume to underline this point. [ [http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:YNiFQaDlEnwJ:listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa%3FA2%3Dind0411%26L%3Dtwatch-l%26D%3D1%26F%3DP%26O%3DD%26P%3D44718+boyle+kangaroo+costume+wedgewood&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a TWATCH-L Archive (google cache)] ] More recently Boyle has been on the vanguard of movement to impeach U.S. President George W. Bush. He had previously called for the impeachment of former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In July 2008, Boyle offered to represent Iran against the United States. He has urged Iran to sue the United States in the International Court of Justice in The Hague in order to discourage a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and prevent the imposition of new sanctions by the U.N. Security Council. [cite web |title=US lawyer seeks to sue US over Iran threats |url=http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=64435&sectionid=3510302 |author=Press TV |accessdate=2008-08-23]

Boyle has compared Israel to Nazi Germany [ [http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis7.html Israel's Crimes against Palestinians: War Crimes, Crimes Against.. (by Francis Boyle) - Media Monitors Network ] ] and said that he is ready to “represent Iran in an international tribunal for trying the Zionist regime on charges of genocide of Palestinians” [ [http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e21cdc1a818bf974/ac111d63a4f7fd4d?lnk=raot] ] .

References

External resources

* [http://www.corkpsc.org/db.php?aid=4573 Dennis Bernstein's interview with Francis Boyle]
* [http://www.law.uiuc.edu/faculty/DirectoryResult.asp?Name=Boyle,+Francis Francis Boyle's Faculty Webpage]
* [http://www.alohaquest.com/archive/boyle_excerpts.htm Francis Boyle's statement on Hawaiian Independence]
* [http://www.counterpunch.org/boyle.html Francis Boyle's interview with Bill O'Reilly]
* [http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis21.html Francis Boyle discusses the Bill O'Reilly interview and the War in Afghanistan]
* [http://www.reason.com/0212/fe.tc.e.shtml Tim Cavanaugh, 'The Long, Happy Life of America's anti-defamation industry'.]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_3_25/ai_114519332 Francis A. Boyle. Palestine, Palestinians and International Law] , review of his book by Ghada Talhami, Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Summer, 2003