Human Rights Groups File War Crimes Charges in Germany Against Rumsfeld, Gonzalez and Others

Interview with Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, conducted by Scott Harris

On Nov. 14, a coalition of human rights groups filed war crimes charges in Germany against outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other officials in the Bush administration, including attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, former CIA director George Tenet, and Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of American forces in Iraq. They are accused of either ordering, aiding, or failing to prevent war crimes. Led by the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights, the groups are calling on the German federal prosecutor to investigate the responsibility of these high-ranking U.S. officials for authorizing war crimes, including torture and other human rights violations.

The charges were filed on behalf of 12 alleged victims of torture, 11 of whom are Iraqi citizens who were detained at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. The twelfth man, who has been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since January 2006, is Mohammed al-Qahtani, a citizen of Saudi Arabia whom Washington accuses of being a conspirator in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The complaint was filed in Germany because that nation is a signatory to the International Criminal Court and under German law, war crimes can be prosecuted irrespective of the nationality or location of the defendant or plaintiff. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who discusses why his group filed war crimes charges against Bush administration officials and the goals of this legal action.

Contact the Center for Constitutional Rights by calling (212) 614-6464 or visit the Center's website at www.ccr-ny.org. Michael Ratner is a contributor to the CCR book titled, "Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush."

Related links:

"War Crimes Suit Filed Against Former Defense Secretary," Der Spiegel Online, Nov. 14, 2006

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