George Bush Cuts and Runs From Torture Case in Switzerland

Tuesday 08 February 2011

by: Vincent Warren, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis

George Bush Cuts and Runs From Torture Case in Switzerland
Former President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington on May 1, 2007. On February 7, 2011, when two torture victims were to have filed criminal complaints for torture against Bush in Geneva, the former president abruptly canceled his February 12 trip to Switzerland. (Photo: Doug Mills / The New York Times)

Apparently, former president George W. Bush does "cut and run." On February 7, 2011, two torture victims were to have filed criminal complaints for torture against Bush in Geneva. Bush was due to speak there at a charity gala on February 12. On the eve of the case filing, Bush abruptly canceled his trip, choosing instead to attend the Super Bowl in Dallas. Why would he rather be in Dallas than in Geneva? For one thing, Swiss authorities are under a legal obligation to start a preliminary criminal investigation if a torturer is on Swiss soil. But, thanks to Attorney General Eric Holder's refusal to apply US law to investigate torture, Bush isn't even breaking a sweat in Dallas - or anywhere in the US, for that matter.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), along with the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, prepared the detailed case in Switzerland, with support from the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Swiss law requires the presence of an alleged torturer on Swiss soil before a preliminary investigation can be opened. Because Bush cancelled, the complaints could not be filed, as the basis for legal jurisdiction no longer existed. However, the fact that Bush authorized torture remains, and it is harder than ever to hide now, on the ninth anniversary of his decision that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the conflict with al-Qaeda or to so-called "unlawful combatants."

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In the long run, ducking a charge of torture is not as easy as ducking a shoe thrown at a press conference. Accordingly, CCR publicly released the Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment. The indictment provides a strong factual and legal basis to hold Bush accountable - in any of the 147 countries which have ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT) - for having authorized torture. In addition, the indictment compiles more than 2,500 pages of publicly available supporting material and has the support of two Nobel Peace Prize winners, more than 60 NGOs and two former UN special rapporteurs on torture and the independence of judges and lawyers.

In light of clear international law, broad international support and the evidence laid out in the indictment, it's no wonder Bush canceled his trip to Switzerland in order to evade the possibility of prosecution for torture. And of course, that's a major point of this aspect of international law: the perpetrators of torture crimes shouldn't be afforded safe haven. But another important question for us to consider as the rest of the world gets much smaller for Bush is, why is Holder comfortable with allowing him safe haven here in the United States?

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Comments

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Why is Holder comfortable

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 15:34 — Anonymous (not verified)

Why is Holder comfortable with allowing him safe haven here in the United States?

Because the Obama administration itself clings tenuously to the power of a corrupt empire.

why is Holder comfortable

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 15:37 — Anonymous (not verified)

why is Holder comfortable with allowing him safe haven here in the United States? Holder is comfortable with this because Holder is a war criminal of the same caliber that Bush is. Nothing could be more obvious than this. Holder is protecting Bush.

Vincent Warren: to answer

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 15:38 — Anonarcmous (not verified)

Vincent Warren: to answer your "why does Holder.. comfortable..?" was an answer given to me a long time ago. By someone born back in the 1800's who had lived thru several wars. The reason is the worlds' leaders and elites, by virtue of their standing, cling together--regardless of their beliefs or politics--they form a ruling empowered elite against the populous masses and that when the fortunes of politics change--quite rapidly as we have just witnessed in Egypt this past month--they have to 'be there' for each other. That is why Clinton says the Mubaraks are "friends of family", why VPBiden talks stability, and why PresObama...as most other l-e-a-d-e-r-s say little against him. This has been repeated throughout history. Unless a great theft can be accomplished--as in the case of Saddam Hussein, then they are killed, otherwise not, b/c they share the global leadership solidarity--they are not of the people. And they often find asylum in different lands b/c they bring lots of stolen wealth w/ them.

"he bravely ran away...when

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 16:00 — Anonymous (not verified)

"he bravely ran away...when danger reared its angry head, he bravely turned his tail and fled...brave brave brave brave sir bush"

I feel sad that Eric Holder

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 17:28 — maddi bee (not verified)

I feel sad that Eric Holder turned out to be such a patsy. Too bad for him, and for us. We need people with guts enough to stand up to the Republican losers who do not give a good god damn about our beautiful country and its people.

My guess is that Obama,

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 18:05 — Anonymous (not verified)

My guess is that Obama, Holder and Gates still have some black sites open and could also be open to torture charges. It would be unseemly for one torturer to assist in the prosecution of another.

Rich and powerful people only get prosecuted if they harm other rich and powerful people. I hope that our dual justice system will come to an end someday. If us little people did what Bush did, we'd be going to prison for the rest of our lives until they pumped our veins full of poisons.

Aww c'mon Georgy... You were

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 18:17 — GT66 (not verified)

Aww c'mon Georgy... You were tough on terrorism when it was *other* people taking the risk and dying. Wasn't your position righteous? Don't you remember: "The USA does not torture? According to John Yoo you didn't break any laws so what's to worry? After all, he too is righteous in the eyes of the Lord and one damn fine attorney in the eyes of your administration.

BTW - If Georgy dare not

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 18:22 — GT66 (not verified)

BTW - If Georgy dare not leave the US, isn't he more or less a prisoner of his own war on terror? His cell is a little bigger than those in Quantanimo but I find his defacto house arrest to be mildly karmic. OTOH, Georgy boy is such a cultural and intellectual dullard that he probably doesn't even realize or appreciate his ironic situation.

FACT: Torture produces bad

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 18:24 — Anonymous (not verified)

FACT: Torture produces bad intelligence.Any competent trained interrogator,(not torturer), knows this), it's interrogation 101.

Fact: Poor intelligence kills OUR troops well as countless deaths, maiming,rapes,kidnappings (renditions) and general victimization of innocent civilians.

Therefore, and this is demonstrable and proven, torturers are complicit if not responsible for murder and are guilty of treason and those who order them to willfully commit amoral illegal acts are guilty of High Treason.

We need to follow the

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 20:58 — Anonymous (not verified)

We need to follow the example of other countries who have been in similar situations and have a great uprising. We've been quietly debating Repugnicans and their b.s. for how many years now? while they sit back and destroy the world around us. The people of Egypt have the right idea.

"And they often find asylum

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:16 — Anonymous (not verified)

"And they often find asylum in different lands b/c they bring lots of stolen wealth w/ them."

That line there is right on! Thank you for making my day :)

There is an undercurrent that I have seen in all my travels around the world - the rich take all steps and measures to hide the wealth they have (from taxes, governments etc.) and are ruthless when it comes to their interest. They want more and more and will not hesitate at anything.

If governments are so united against terrorism, it boggles the mind why they don't go after these people who steal from entire nations and then get the privileged status of demi-gods. Why hasn't one Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Wall Street big-wig been arrested after bringing the entire global economic system to the brink? Would not a mere shoplifter be thrown in jail for stealing much less?

Hey, stay the course, man,

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:31 — Kootenay Coyote (not verified)

Hey, stay the course, man, eh?

As long as the Obama

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:36 — Paul W (not verified)

As long as the Obama administration continues to torture Bradley Manning, it stands to reason they won't prosecute Bush and the other thugs. If they did, they'd immediately lay themselves open to the same charges.

None of this hand wringing

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:55 — Anonymous (not verified)

None of this hand wringing make one iota of difference A, sorta, con-temp. example -President Darth Cheney shooting a friend in the face and NOTHING happened! Another example - O J Simpson getting off for his wife's murder. Another not quite provable example - Marilyn Monroe's death by suicide. Um, yeah - - -

To answer your question at

Tue, 02/08/2011 - 23:16 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)

To answer your question at the end of the article, Vincent Warren: Duh, because Holder and the ObamaCONS are part and parcel of the BushCONS, and an inseparable part of their coterie of neo-liberal/neo-con/neo-(corporate)-fascists! (See the comments section of the following article.)

http://www.truth-out.org/torturing-democracy67570#comments

I hear that Bush is coming

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 00:39 — Anonymous (not verified)

I hear that Bush is coming to Canada again soon. Canadian law allows for private prosecutions; any competent criminal lawyer can commence one. All that is required is to satisfy a justice of the peace, in a closed hearing, that there is a prima facie case. then an arrest warrant can issue and the prosecution can proceed without any government involvement.

What do you want to bet that the paperwork has not been done and a warrant already issued for Bush, to activate the next time he enters Canada?

Perversely, this gives me a

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 00:54 — Morgan (not verified)

Perversely, this gives me a glimmer of hope that I shall live long enough to see Bush successfully prosecuted before the World Court.

Unfortunately, with Canada's

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 02:22 — Daniel J. Lavigne (not verified)

Unfortunately, with Canada's Corrupted Courts (And Parliament!) bowing to the will and demands of "American Justice", private prosecutions of criminals such as George W. Bush are NO longer permitted.

Indeed, with Canada being the prime supplier of all materials needed by America to build and maintain its nuclear and other weapons of mass murder, there is little possibility that justice will be done. ERGO:
******************************  
Maintain The Rage!
Add your voice to reason's call. 
Join the Tax Refusal.  
****************************** 
http://www.TaxRefusal.com
******************************
And the related effort to wake the world:
STOP YOUR ENGINES !
http://www.StopYourEngines.com
*************************************

I love Swiss ... I hope more

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 03:47 — Christians and Muslins together. (not verified)

I love Swiss ... I hope more people do that against the world oppressor and bully.

Has no one thought that,

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 11:46 — Anonymous (not verified)

Has no one thought that, perhaps, he just wanted to attend the Superbowl?
One can label just about any action or decision as "devious," if one wishes.
Personally, I think that, unless & until the World Court demands his presence, I must hold off my judgments of these alleged charges.
Yes, I believe him to be capable of authorizing torture, & I doubt that anything will ever come from it in any court of law, national or international.
The lesson we need to take from this is that we must be careful of those whom we allow our Supreme Court to appoint to the office, no?

Are you kidding us,

Wed, 02/09/2011 - 23:43 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)

Are you kidding us, "Anonymous @ Wed, 02/09/2011 - 11:46", rhetorically speaking?!!!!! I don't believe in the widespread violation of the U.S. Constitution and international common law known as "presumption of guilt", either; but not only is there literally "tons" of evidence that Bush and his fellow "(neo)CONS"/"neo-nazi-CONS" authorized torture and other war crimes (such as illegally attacking Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen; and, through the U.S. government and military's support of Israel, by extension illegally attacking Gaza and Palestine as well), "BushCON" has also outright admitted on mainstream television, and in writing, along with "CheneyCON", that they authorized, and therefore had a direct hand in perpetrating, the war crime(s) of torture, etc.!!

Where have you been, living under a rock?! There is absolutely no excuse(s) for you, and/or for anyone else, having not read of the voluminous evidence against Bush and his coterie of mass-war-crime perpetra(i)tors!!

So, give us all a break from your, and those like you's, "apologies" for mass-war-criminals like Bush and company, whether indirect or not!!

INDICT BUSH AND ALL OF THE WAR CRIMINALS, PROSECUTE THEM, CONVICT THEM, AND LOCK THEM UP FOR LIFE WITH ABSOLUTELY NO POSSIBILITY(IES) OF PAROLE!!!!!...

impeachbush.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage

(Don't be mislead, "ImpeachBush.org" is now really "IndictBush.org" in essence.)

The contempt that Bush,

Thu, 02/10/2011 - 10:15 — Anonymous (not verified)

The contempt that Bush, Cheney, Obama, Biden, Holder, Clinton, et al. have for the rule of law will be their demise. Americans are rapidly approaching the same breaking point that is now occurring, it seems, almost throughout the entire world. When one honestly assesses the level of insult this fascist government has perpetrated against its citizens, a case can be made to try virtually everyone in elected office for collaboration in war crimes and treason. Tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year, and have been for decades, because of malice, greed, and purposeful neglect. How much anguish and torture is enough? As I sit here in pain from untreated symptoms because of lack of health insurance, I say time grows short to reform the government of this nation into one that is really democratic and populist, not just the hollow promises of same. If allowing people who have contributed to society, who have intrinsic value as sentient beings, to suffer and die ignominious deaths is OK with you, then you, too, shall suffer the consequences of your sociopathic delusions. F*** you, America.

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George Bush Cuts and Runs From Torture Case in Switzerland

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