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Lamo
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...o-be-indicted/
Spanish prosecutors will seek criminal charges against Alberto Gonzales and five high-ranking Bush administration officials for sanctioning torture at Guantánamo.
Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. Their decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday before the Spanish central criminal court, the Audencia Nacional, in Madrid. But the decision is likely to raise concerns with the human-rights community on other points: They will seek to have the case referred to a different judge
The six defendants—in addition to Gonzales, Federal Appeals Court Judge and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff David Addington, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith—are accused of having given the green light to the torture and mistreatment of prisoners held in U.S. detention in “the war on terror.” The case arises in the context of a pending proceeding before the court involving terrorism charges against five Spaniards formerly held at Guantánamo. A group of human-rights lawyers originally filed a criminal complaint asking the court to look at the possibility of charges against the six American lawyers. Baltasar Garzón Real, the investigating judge, accepted the complaint and referred it to Spanish prosecutors for a view as to whether they would accept the case and press it forward. “The evidence provided was more than sufficient to justify a more comprehensive investigation,” one of the lawyers associated with the prosecution stated
Both Washington and Madrid appear determined not to allow the pending criminal investigation to get in the way of improved relations, which both desire, particularly in regard to coordinated economic policy to confront the current financial crisis and a reshaped NATO mandate for action in Afghanistan. With the case now proceeding, that will be more of a challenge. The reaction on American editorial pages is divided—some questioning sharply why the Obama administration is not conducting an investigation, which is implicitly the question raised by the Spanish prosecutors. Publications loyal to the Bush team argue that the Spanish investigation is an “intrusion” into American affairs, even when those affairs involve the torture of five Spaniards on Cuba.
The Bush Six labored at length to create a legal black hole in which they could implement their policies safe from the scrutiny of American courts and the American media. Perhaps they achieved much of their objective, but the law of unintended consequences has kicked in. If U.S. courts and prosecutors will not address the matter because of a lack of jurisdiction, foreign courts appear only too happy to step in.
Those damn Spaniards!!!
Lamo
Can we pitch in to get them there? Where do I donate?
so they broke the law of unintended consequences? what's the penalty for that in Spain?
humorous article.......wishful thinking......
We should indict Spain for the Inquisition.
LMAO
We should indict Spain for being gayer than France.
too bad there's no video
It should be interesting to see what comes of this case.
There IS precedent for countries prosecuting people from other countries for things like war crimes. And it could be said that using enhanced interrogation techniques such as the ones we used could be considered war crimes. As Andrew Sullivan pointed out, there were German citizens who were charged with war crimes for doing the same. The only difference is that, IIRC, they were performing it on soldiers who fell into a clearly defined Geneva category.
lol spain.
I cant remember (big surprise), but something like this happened a few years back.
I laughed then, Im laughing now. If Bush were indicted, it'd be by the USA, not formerly-the-coolest-kid-on-the-block Spain.
Whose next to try this PR move? Portugal? The Dutch? It'd be the Convention of Colonial Countries Who Used to Mean .
Well, if any of these guys DO somehow end up in Spain, Spain would most likely be within their authority to arrest and try these individuals.
Now thats true, but I highly doubt the sitting government would even try such a bold move.
Bush Jr and Co. could be spotted by Spanish paparazzi on the coast of the Iberian Penninsula with a Corona, a fishing pole and an Army Interrogation Manual and I have the utmost confidence he wont be late for his departure.
Thats more my point. I made a joke (a bad one) about former world powers accusing anyone of war-time transgressions. Its posturing on Spain's part. Why, I could only guess.
Spanish prosecutors have tried to go after a number of other international leaders/eni ies that they felt committed crimes against them.
They have had very little success in actually indicting them and bringing them in.
Maybe they're putting a foot in the water to see if some in the international community will go with them?
That'd be a foolhardy road to walk if true. Even more absurd if they had company.
Great. Now the Spanish will try to facilitate US composition to international norms of justice. We might have done it ourselves and saved everybody else the trouble, but it wasn't politically feasible -- besides, it's not our style.
My guess is the US will not recognize the proceedings and the principals will not appear. The in absentia prosecution will carry no weight at all unless one of the defendants is so unlucky as to be caught abroad.
Our reputation could have an L-shaped recession too. I hope not.
I dont think so and certainly not based on this. France was trading with Sadaam in the Food for Oil program and I didnt see the USG wanting to drag their leaders to international court.
Every government is an asshole and a criminal. The only difference is in degree.
Obligatory:
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Who knows? Perhaps Spain will adapt these criminal's prisoner rendition program...
You people laughing at this need to research Spain's prosecution of another group of fascist asshole torturers: the South American Juntas. They don't have to go to Spain to be in jeopardy, either. Pinochet was arrested in London.
Yesterday, Spain’s Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido told reporters that the case was without merit because the officials were not present when the alleged torture took place and that a trial would turn Spain’s National Court into “a plaything” for political ends.
http://rawstory.com/08/blog/2009/04/...ll-but-doomed/“If one is dealing with a crime of mistreatment of prisoners of war, the complaint should go against those who physically carried it out,” Conde-Pumpido stated. “If there is a reason to file a complaint against these people, it should be done before local courts with jurisdiction, in other words in the United States.
”
Interesting. Let's see how the Spanish try to show they have jurisdiction over these former US officals.
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