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Donald Rumsfeld: International War Criminal (Bush Belongs Behind Bars Too!)

by Open-Publishing - Wednesday 15 November 2006
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Rumsfeld war crimes complaint filed in Germany
Holly Manges Jones at 10:01 AM ET

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[JURIST] Eleven former Abu Ghraib detainees and one Guantanamo detainee all claiming to have been victims of US torture initiated a criminal complaint [introduction in English, PDF; full complaint text in German, part one and part two, PDF] in Germany Tuesday asking that the German Federal Prosecutor [official website] investigate and ultimately prosecute former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top US officials and advisors [CCR list] for authorizing the commission of war crimes in the US "war on terror." As anticipated [JURIST report], the complaint was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by a coalition of US and international rights groups - among them the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the German Republican Attorneys’ Association (RAV) [advocacy websites] - invoking Germany’s universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder] law, which allows the prosecution of war crimes no matter where they were carried out.

US and German lawyers jointly allege that Rumsfeld personally ordered harsher torture methods against Mohamed al-Qahtani [Wikipedia profile], the so-called "20th hijacker" from the Sept. 11 attacks being held at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], when he did not confess to terrorist activities under initial interrogation sessions. It additionally cites alleged orders to commit or failures to prevent torture by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile], former CIA director George Tenet [official profile], and recently retired [JURIST report] US Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez [Wikipedia profile], the former commander of all US forces in Iraq. CCR provides additional background materials.

CCR and four Iraqi citizens initially filed [JURIST report] a war crimes complaint [English translation, PDF] in Germany against Rumsfeld and seven other high-ranking US officials in October 2004, seeking to hold them accountable for acts of torture allegedly carried out at Abu Ghraib. That complaint was rejected [JURIST report] by a German prosecutor in February 2005 and a German court later upheld [JURIST report] the prosecutor’s dismissal of the complaint. Attorneys representing the 12 detainees in the current suit believe they have a better chance this time because they have obtained records from the 2005 congressional hearings on al-Qahtani’s case, and because Rumsfeld’s recent resignation [JURIST report] may alleviate political pressure on German prosecutors to dismiss the challenge. AP has more. From Germany, Der Spiegel has local coverage.
 
 

Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing U.S. defense secretary, is facing a lawsuit in Germany for his alleged role in inhuman treatments meted out to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and in Iraq.BERLIN: Donald Rumsfeld,
International War Criminal
 
U.S. advocacy group files case against Rumsfeld in Germany
Posted on : 2006-11-14 | Author : Philip Green
News Category : Legal

BERLIN: Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing U.S. defense secretary, is facing a lawsuit in Germany for his alleged role in inhuman treatments meted out to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and in Iraq.

The complaint has been filed by a U.S. based advocacy group, Center for Constitutional Rights, in a German court on behalf of a detainee held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay and 11 Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

Attorneys for the group said the case will examine the part played by high-ranking U.S. officials authorizing crimes against suspected terrorists. German law allows considering cases originating anywhere in the world.

The case had come up earlier in 2004, but German prosecutors did not take it up at that time. The lawyers say the new case contains "substantial new evidence" and new circumstances following the resignation of Rumsfeld.

The group is also seeking criminal prosecution of U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzales, former CIA Director George Tenet, former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez and eight others, charging they all either ordered, aided, or failed to prevent war crimes.

A spokesperson for German prosecutors said the department has received a complaint and it is looking into it. He would not say when it would take a decision on the complaint.

The International Federation for Human Rights, the Republican Attorneys Association and others are joining the U.S. group in the case.

Michael Ratner, president of the group, said he felt the case had a better chance of success now as Rumsfeld is no longer in office and could not exert the same degree of "political pressure". The center has more evidence now than in 2004.

The U.S. has denied that any torture has taken place at Guantanamo Bay and has defended the interrogation methods.

Posted By:Ministry of Mutation

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"The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. When evil doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out ’stop!’ When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable, the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer."
– Bertolt Brecht

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Forum posts

  • Yeah, the finally filled a complaint. So what! Do you think the same crooks who allow tortured evidence in their courts will even think of prosecuting any other war criminal. Well, if you can dig up some Nazi shit or some of the Yugoslawian war, may be they would do something.
    I read the papers and it is terrible and it is more terrible that the "civilized" west ignores all the facts and moves on.

  • With the realization that Bush and Rumsfeld have comitted war crimes, the democrats have said that there will be no impeachment. Hence, it is the democrats in the majority that are failing to uphold the constitution.

  • I am a japanese woman and I think this is absolutely great news. sadly american majority blindly allowed those evil people to execute their criminal act ( invasion to the other country) for their greedy agenda. since U.S.A invasion , more than 150000 civilians were killed and this is the horrible genocide that was committed by U.S.A and this torture crime was the first step to doing so. but we international community and rest of the world are not all blind or brain washed by US friendly media. human being still have compass to know what’s is the right and what is the wrong. If America can’t complete their self justice monitoring , then rest of the world have to do it. this court case about Mr.Rams and his mate’s crime is just a beginning of the huge saga to peel the rotten apple ..

  • DEMS...REPUBS....Good cop/Bad cop scenario....BOTH under the thumb of Zionist Jews.They,the Zionists, do not and can not let the truth out.......The so called differences between these 2 "heads of the same monster" are kept in place to daze and confuse the idiot American GOYIM"(that’s us, nuckelheads!!).This has worked like a charm for generations......