Bush Torturers May Face Justice Yet

By Willam Fisher, IPS News. Posted April 20, 2009.

Human rights advocates who were critical of President Barack Obama’s decision not to prosecute Central Intelligence Agency operatives who tortured war-on-terror prisoners are hailing a Spanish judge’s order to pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of six Bush administration lawyers for providing legal cover for torture -- despite a recommendation from his prosecutors that the case not go forward.

Late last week, Spain's attorney general, Candido Conde-Pumpido, recommended that the judge, Baltasar Garzón, should dismiss the complaint, brought by human rights lawyers. A day later, the judge resisted pressure with a decision to proceed with the case.

The crusading investigative judge is the same official who ordered the arrest of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998. The attorney general encouraged the judge to let sleeping Bush administration officials lie. According to a report by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Conde-Pumpido said that Garzón’s proposed criminal investigation into the actions of former Bush officials for possible violations of international law has "no merit." The court is considering criminal action against six former Bush administration officials for reported torture at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. nationals named in the accusation include former U.S. attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales; former Justice Department lawyer John C. Yoo; former undersecretary of defence Douglas J. Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington; former Justice Department official Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

It alleges the men gave legal cover to torture by claiming that the U.S. president could ignore the Geneva Conventions. The case was brought by human rights lawyers.

Under Spanish law, once the judge receives the prosecutor's recommendation, he can either drop the case or open a full-blown probe that could lead to an indictment. It is the investigative judge, not the prosecutors, who files criminal charges.

Spanish law gives its courts jurisdiction beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes, based on a doctrine known as universal justice, though the government has recently said it hopes to limit the scope of the legal process.

One of the Spanish human rights lawyers who brought the case, Gonzalo Boye, told Associated Press that the claim of Spanish jurisdiction was bolstered by the fact that five Guantanamo Bay inmates were either citizens or residents of Spain.

But this case, if it ultimately goes forward, will have implications far beyond Spain, because arrest warrants issued in Spain will be binding on all 27 European Union member states.

Most of the men under investigation have not commented, but Feith has strongly rejected the charges and the claim that Spain has jurisdiction, saying the case was "a national insult with harmful implications."

Spain's government, which has been trying to improve its relationships with Washington, has insisted their courts are independent and that the executive branch has no sway over its decisions.

Spain, like many other countries in Europe, has a special interest in these cases since five of its citizens and residents were tortured or abused at Guantanamo.

Human rights advocates have been unanimously supportive of Spain’s efforts to move the case forward.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which represents many of the men detained by the U.S. government at Guantánamo, praised Spanish judge Garzon’s decision to pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of six Bush administration lawyers.

Michael Ratner, CCR’s president, said, "The importance of this investigation can not be understated. Contrary to statements by some, the Spanish investigations are not ‘symbolic.’ He noted that if and when arrest warrants are issued, all countries in the European Union will be obligated to enforce them. The world is getting smaller for the torture conspirators."

See more stories tagged with: torture, international law, justice

William Fisher has managed economic development programs in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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