U.S. Group to File Iraq War Crimes Case in Germany

[maddezmom]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Lawyers acting for a U.S. advocacy group will Tuesday file war crimes charges in Germany against senior U.S. administration officials for their alleged role in torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (news - web sites).



"German law in this area is leading the world," Peter Weiss, vice president of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a human rights group, was quoted as saying in Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper's Tuesday edition.


According to the group, German law allows war criminals to be investigated wherever they may be living.


Those to be named in the case to be filed at Germany's Federal Prosecutors Office include Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) chief George Tenet and eight other officials.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041129/ts_nm/usa_iraq_warcrime_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480

[gennifer6]

1. awesome!!!

the Germans should be all for helping us with this....

[TexasChick]

2. Karma's a bitch, ain't it, Rumsfailed? n/t

[Just Me]

3. The wheels of justice move ever so slowly,...

,...but surely,...one way or another.

So, once indicted, tried & convicted,...how will enforcement of the sentence take place.

[rawstory]

4. More details on Raw Story (some translation, Sanchez also named)

More details on Raw story: http://rawstory.com (some translation from the German paper -- that story is online now too).

Group to file war crimes suit against U.S. over Abu Ghraib abuse in German courts

By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor

Group that won Guantánamo ruling targets U.S. over Abu Ghraib

Lawyers acting for a U.S. advocacy group will file war crimes charges in Germany against senior U.S. administration officials for their alleged role in torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The charges, which will be filed Tuesday, name Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet, the former leading U.S. general in Iraq Ricardo Sanchez and seven other officials, according to a German newspaper.

“German law in this area is leading the world,” Peter Weiss, vice president of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a human rights group, was quoted as saying in Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper’s Tuesday edition.

They accuse the United States of knowingly committing war crimes, as well as violations of international law and UN conventions. Because the U.S. does not recognize the international criminal court, the group decided to use national criminal law in Germany, which allows war criminals to be investigated wherever they may be living.

[Karenina]

5. JAAAAAAWOHL!!!

YYYYYESSSSSS!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[420inTN]

6. Re: "wherever they may be living"

But does that include where the crimes were committed?

Does German law give German courts the right to hear cases concerning crimes in another country? Then you also have extradition issues, etc.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

7. It's about time.

That's fantastic. I hope this sticks and they nail those immoral bastards to the wall.

[maddezmom]

8. kick

[rodeodance]

9. so why is Bush not included?

[maddezmom]

13. got me

:shrug:

[Todd B]

10. Finally!

A great step.. let's hope that Canada follows suit and slaps the cuffs on Bush during his trip up North!

[steely]

11. Ausgeseichnet!

a venue outside the US - cool - and in the heart of "... Old Europe". (his term, not mine).
the irony.

[maddezmom]

12. more here: Legal team seeks charges in Germany against Rumsfeld over Abu G

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Berlin's Republican Lawyers' Association said they and five Iraqi citizens mistreated by US soldiers were seeking a probe by German federal prosecutors of leading US policymakers.


They said they had chosen Germany because of its Code of Crimes Against International Law, introduced in 2002, which grants German courts universal jurisdiction in cases involving war crimes or crimes against humanity.


It also makes military or civilian commanders who fail to prevent their subordinates from committing such acts liable.


~snip~

The CCR said that the five Iraqis it was representing had been victims of mistreatment including electric shock, severe beatings, sleep and food deprivation and sexual abuse.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041130/pl_afp/iraq_us_abuse_germany&cid=1521&ncid=1480

[Tight_rope]

14. Praise the Lord!

[indepat]

15. Will this go far considering we the people have ratified prosecution of

the war in Iraq, including any alleged/documented mistreatment of prisoners, et al: in effect, have not we the people, in numbers far too large to ignore, said all this and all the lagnaippe that goes with a pre-emptive are a.o.k. in our books?

[Disturbed]

16. Guilty!!!!

Rumsfailed Admitted to Violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public on TV that when CIA Director Tenet requested that an Iraqi prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act. Rumsfailed then ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graihib but the prisoner was purposefully not listed at that location, also an illegal act. Rumsfeld also admitted to signing orders for tougher interogation methods which violated the Geneva Conventions.

Rumfailed has commited at least three violations of the Geneva Convention; thereby also violations of The Constitution of the USA. Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfailed and Tenet have not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Rep. Rangle's Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfailed and also proscecute Ex. CIA Tenet.

Does the US, Govt., Congress, and the Justice Dept no longer abide by the Geneva Convention or the Constitution of the USA?



=========================
Q: Senator Jack Reed (Dem, RI): "If you were shown
a video of a United States Marine or an American
citizen in control of a foreign power, in a cell block,
naked with a bag over their head, squatting with their
arms uplifted for 45 minutes, would you describe that
as a good interrogation technique or a violation of
the Geneva Convention?"

A: Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the vice chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff: "I would describe it as a violation."

A: Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense: "What
you've described to me sounds to me like a violation of the
Geneva Convention."

Thursday, May 13, 2004, Senate Armed Services Committee hearings

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25737-20... <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25737-2004May13.htm>

[indepat]

18. Since we the people, in numbers far too large to ignore, have ratified

all this, just how far does any culpability reach? Ever wonder who a just God would deem culpable?

[proudbluestater]

17. Action Alert! Link to sign a letter of support for investigation

If you click on the link, you're taking to the page where you can sign up to send a letter to the prosecutor, urging him to take action. They need to hear from us in great numbers!

http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/whatsnew/action/actionAlert2.asp
Action Alert!

Call on the German Federal Prosecutor to Investigate Rumsfeld and Other U.S. Officials for War Crimes at Abu Ghraib


The Center for Constitutional Rights and four Iraqis who were tortured in U.S. custody have filed a complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office against high ranking United States civilian and military commanders over the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere in Iraq.

We are asking the German prosecutor to launch an investigation: since the U.S. government is unwilling to open an independent investigation into the responsibility of these officials for war crimes, and since the U.S. has refused to join the International Criminal Court, CCR and the Iraqi victims have brought this complaint in Germany as a court of last resort. Several of the defendants are stationed in Germany.

Defendants include Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, former CIA Director George Tenet, Lt. General Ricardo S. Sanchez, Major-General Walter Wojdakowski, Brig.-General Janis Karpinski, Lt.-Colonel Jerry L. Phillabaum, Colonel Thomas M. Pappas, Lt.-Colonel Stephen L. Jordan, Major-General Geoffrey Miller, and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone.

German law allows German courts to prosecute for killing, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, forcible transfers and sexual coercion such as occurred at Abu Ghraib. The world has seen the photographs and read the leaked “torture memos” – we are doing what is necessary when other systems of justice have failed and seeking to hold officials up the chain of command responsible for the shameful abuses that occurred.

Please join our effort! The German Prosecutor has discretion to decide whether to initiate an investigation. It is critical that he hear from you so he knows that people around the world support this effort.

[maddezmom]

19. I'll check it out, thanks