Tonight the cable news channels were covering Rumsfeld's unwillingness to go to Germany for some purpose, e.g. attending a conference, reviewing the troops, visitng the wounded, etc. at U.S. bases and hospitals there. The reason some gave is that he is afraid he would be arrested for war crimes. Is there any more info on this? Does this mean Germany is permanently off-limits for anyone involved in these charges? Here are a few items found:
'US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may be forced to skip a major international security conference in Munich next month for fear that he could be hauled before a German court on war crimes charges, according to published reports in both the US and Germany.
'
The American human rights organisation Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and four Iraqis who were tortured by American military personnel in Iraq have brought legal proceedings in Germany against Rumsfeld. Also named in the indictment are former CIA Director George Tenet; the deputy secretary for the intelligence at the US Defence Department, Stephen Cambone; and US generals Robert Sanchez, Walter Wojdakowski, Geoffrey Miller and Janis Karpinski; as well as military officers Jerry Phillabaum, Thomas Pappas and Stephen Jordan. All are charged with war crimes.' (World Socialist article).
And this:
FRANKFURT, Germany, January 31, 2005 - A group of American human rights lawyers asked German prosecutors Monday to investigate U.S. Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales on allegations of war crimes as part of a requested probe of U.S. officials' actions in Iraq, the group said.
Attorneys from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed a suit with German federal prosecutors last November charging that U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former CIA director George Tenet, are responsible for acts of torture committed at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
German media have speculated that Rumsfeld will not attend an upcoming international security conference in Munich later this month because of the lawsuit, although officials in Washington insist there has been no final decision on whether the defense secretary will attend.
The attorneys said they chose Germany because it has legislation that allows for the prosecution of war crimes and human rights violations across national boundaries. Because the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court, they could not take their case there.
Documents submitted Monday detail how Gonzales' testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee "implicates him in the war crimes that were committed in Iraq," the group said in a statement.
The group also submitted an affidavit from a leading U.S. lawyer addressing the issue of primary jurisdiction, stating his views on why there was little chance a similar criminal investigation would be conducted in the United States.
"It's as strong a case as you can get," attorney Michael Rattner said in a telephone interview from New York.
The German Federal Prosecutors' office in Karlsruhe did not return phone calls for comment.
German prosecutors have yet to open an official investigation into the original complaint and it was not clear if they would.
Yet Rattner said prosecutors had requested supporting documents for the original filing much quicker than expected.
"That means to me there is pressure from somewhere," he said.
Such an investigation would further strain U.S.-German relations, which suffered gravely over Germany's outspoken criticism of the war in Iraq.
:: Article nr. 9376 sent on 01-feb-2005 22:25 ECT
:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=9376
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www.freenewmexican.com/news/9946.html
'US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may be forced to skip a major international security conference in Munich next month for fear that he could be hauled before a German court on war crimes charges, according to published reports in both the US and Germany.
'
The American human rights organisation Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and four Iraqis who were tortured by American military personnel in Iraq have brought legal proceedings in Germany against Rumsfeld. Also named in the indictment are former CIA Director George Tenet; the deputy secretary for the intelligence at the US Defence Department, Stephen Cambone; and US generals Robert Sanchez, Walter Wojdakowski, Geoffrey Miller and Janis Karpinski; as well as military officers Jerry Phillabaum, Thomas Pappas and Stephen Jordan. All are charged with war crimes.' (World Socialist article).
And this:
FRANKFURT, Germany, January 31, 2005 - A group of American human rights lawyers asked German prosecutors Monday to investigate U.S. Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales on allegations of war crimes as part of a requested probe of U.S. officials' actions in Iraq, the group said.
Attorneys from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed a suit with German federal prosecutors last November charging that U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former CIA director George Tenet, are responsible for acts of torture committed at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
German media have speculated that Rumsfeld will not attend an upcoming international security conference in Munich later this month because of the lawsuit, although officials in Washington insist there has been no final decision on whether the defense secretary will attend.
The attorneys said they chose Germany because it has legislation that allows for the prosecution of war crimes and human rights violations across national boundaries. Because the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court, they could not take their case there.
Documents submitted Monday detail how Gonzales' testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee "implicates him in the war crimes that were committed in Iraq," the group said in a statement.
The group also submitted an affidavit from a leading U.S. lawyer addressing the issue of primary jurisdiction, stating his views on why there was little chance a similar criminal investigation would be conducted in the United States.
"It's as strong a case as you can get," attorney Michael Rattner said in a telephone interview from New York.
The German Federal Prosecutors' office in Karlsruhe did not return phone calls for comment.
German prosecutors have yet to open an official investigation into the original complaint and it was not clear if they would.
Yet Rattner said prosecutors had requested supporting documents for the original filing much quicker than expected.
"That means to me there is pressure from somewhere," he said.
Such an investigation would further strain U.S.-German relations, which suffered gravely over Germany's outspoken criticism of the war in Iraq.
:: Article nr. 9376 sent on 01-feb-2005 22:25 ECT
:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=9376
:: The incoming address of this article is :
www.freenewmexican.com/news/9946.html
but I doubt that it's worth it.