Rights Groups Call for the Arrest of George W. Bush for Torture as He Arrives in Canada

20.10.11

As former US President George W. Bush arrives in Canada today to address a regional economic summit, where attendees will pay $599 a head to hear him and former President Bill Clinton as featured speakers, human right groups opposed to Bush’s visit, having petitioned the government to intervene, but with no response, are initiating a private prosecution, by four Guantánamo prisoners, accusing Bush of torture. In addition, campaigners on the ground are planning a huge protest.

It is anticipated that those turning out to protest Bush’s visit will dwarf the hundreds of protestors who turned up to campaign against a visit by former US Vice President Dick Cheney in Vancouver last month, where the “Vice President for Torture” was addressing diners who had paid $500 a head for the privilege. As CTV News noted, however, “The numbers at the Bush rally could dwarf those at the Cheney event because many protesters from the Occupy Vancouver movement camped out at the Vancouver Art Gallery are planning to head to Surrey to take part.”

Amnesty International got the ball rolling last week, calling for Bush’s arrest for war crimes and torture. In a press release, Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International, explained, “Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former President Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture. As the US authorities have, so far, failed to bring former President Bush to justice, the international community must step in.  A failure by Canada to take action during his visit would violate the UN Convention against Torture and demonstrate contempt for fundamental human rights.”

Amnesty International “submitted a memorandum to the Canadian authorities on 21 September 2011 that makes a substantial case for the former president’s legal responsibility for a series of human rights violations,” and a further submission has been made by Lawyers Against War (see here for the letter by Gail Davidson to the Crimes against Humanity & War Crimes Section of the government’s Citizenship and Immigration department). Furthermore, on September 29, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) submitted a 69-page page draft indictment to Attorney General Robert Nicholson, along with more than 4,000 pages of supporting material, setting forth the case against Bush for torture.

All of these entreaties were ignored, but today, as George W. Bush arrives in Canada, the four Guantánamo prisoners — Hassan bin Attash, Sami el-Hajj, Muhammed Khan Tumani and Murat Kurnaz (all released, with the exception of bin Attash) — will lodge a private prosecution in Provincial Court in Surrey, British Columbia against George W. Bush. Further details of this submission, by CCR and CCIJ, are below, and I congratulate them for their tenacity.

In February this year, George W. Bush cancelled a planned visit to Switzerland, after CCR and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights announced that they would be submitting a torture indictment and asking the Swiss government to arrest him when he landed on Swiss soil. I cross-posted that complaint here, and, as CCR’s Executive Director, Vince Warren, explained, although Bush cancelled that particular visit, the Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment, prepared by CCR and ECCHR, “provides a strong factual and legal basis to hold Bush accountable — in any of the 147 countries which have ratified the [UN] Convention Against Torture (CAT) — for having authorized torture.”

It seems that the former President accepts that he is not welcome in Europe. What a shame that the Canadian government has not made it clear that he is also unwelcome in Canada.

Torture Victims to Initiate Private Prosecution against George W. Bush on His Arrival in Canada

Canadian Government Has Legal Obligation under UN Convention Against Torture to Prosecute Alleged Perpetrators of Torture, Rights Groups Say; Prominent Individuals and Organizations Sign on in Support.

October 19, 2011, Surrey, BC — Tomorrow, four individuals who allege they were tortured during George W. Bush’s tenure as president of the United States will lodge a private prosecution in Provincial Court in Surrey, British Columbia against the former president, who is due to visit Canada for a paid speaking engagement at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit on October 20. The four men will take this step after repeated calls to the Canadian Attorney General to open a torture investigation of George Bush went unanswered. Human rights groups and prominent individuals will sign on in support of the effort.

The four men — Hassan bin Attash, Sami el-Hajj, Muhammed Khan Tumani and Murat Kurnaz — each endured years of inhumane treatment including beatings, chaining to cell walls, being hung from walls or ceilings while handcuffed, lack of access to toilets, sleep, food and water-deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, sensory overload and deprivation, and other horrific and illegal treatment while in U.S. custody at military bases in Afghanistan and/or at the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. While three of the plaintiffs have since been released without ever facing charges, Hassan bin Attash still remains in detention at Guantánamo Bay, though he too has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing.

“I lost my family, my father, my health, my education because of George Bush. Although I was completely innocent, I lost nearly 10 years of my life,” said former Guantánamo detainee and torture survivor Muhammed Khan Tumani. “I suffered greatly while detained at Guantánamo, and continue to suffer. I have restrictions on my travel and cannot travel to see my father who is ill. George Bush must face justice and be held accountable for his actions, which continue to cause me and so many harm.”

On September 29, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) submitted a 69-page page draft indictment to Attorney General Robert Nicholson, along with more than 4,000 pages of supporting material, setting forth the case against Bush for torture. The indictment, incorporated into the criminal information lodged today, contends that by Bush’s own admission he sanctioned and authorized acts that constitute torture under the Canadian criminal code and the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) who is assisting the plaintiffs, said, “George Bush’s brazen admission to authorizing torture techniques and unlawful detentions, including enforced disappearances, must not be met with indifference. His years of impunity must come to an end. Even if the United States has failed to meet its obligations to hold torturers accountable, Canada has an opportunity and a legal obligation to position itself on the right side of history and the law.”

Matt Eisenbrandt, legal director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), who will submit the filing on men’s behalf, added, “Canadian law could not be clearer. If an alleged torturer is present in Canada, the government has the power to prosecute. As a signatory of the Convention Against Torture, Canada has an obligation to initiate an investigation when Mr. Bush sets foot in this country.”

More than 50 human rights organizations from around the world and prominent individuals signed on to support the call for George W. Bush’s prosecution, including former UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Theo van Boven and Manfred Nowak, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the Canadian-based International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. A number of the human rights organizations which signed on are facing the on-going harms of the “counterterrorism” policies advanced under the Bush administration and then adopted or employed in their own countries.

Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, said: “The main aim of the UN Convention Against Torture was to eradicate safe havens for persons who commit, order, or participate in acts of torture worldwide. States parties to the Convention, including Canada, have a legal obligation to arrest all persons suspected of torture with the aim of bringing them to justice. There is plenty of evidence that President Bush authorized enhanced interrogation methods against suspected terrorists, some of which clearly amount to torture, such as waterboarding.”

Last February, the Center for Constitutional Rights, along with other human rights organizations, attempted to initiate criminal proceedings against Bush during a private speaking engagement in Geneva, but he canceled after news of the planned prosecution came to light. Following the cancellation, CCR and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights released the “Bush Torture Indictment,” which can serve as the basis for country-specific indictments against Bush in any of the 147 countries that have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture or have universal jurisdiction laws for torture.

Prior to the filing of this case, CCR and the CCIJ twice (on Sept. 29, 2011 and Oct. 14, 2011) petitioned Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Robert Nicholson by letter to launch a criminal investigation against Bush during his October 20 visit to Canada, but received no response. George Bush and former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney both recently made trips to Canada, without any legal consequence.

A copy of the filing can be viewed in full here. The Letter of Support is available in English and French.

*****

The Canadian Centre for International Justice works with survivors of genocide, torture and other atrocities to seek redress and bring perpetrators to justice. The CCIJ seeks to ensure that individuals present in Canada who are accused of responsibility for serious human rights violations are held accountable and their victims recognized, supported and compensated. For more information visit the website.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, in addition to filing the first cases representing men detained at Guantánamo, has filed universal jurisdiction cases seeking accountability for torture by Bush administration officials in Germany, France and submitted expert opinions and other documentation to ongoing cases in Spain in collaboration with ECCHR. The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Further details regarding the Center for Constitutional Rights’ Bush Torture Indictment can be viewed here, and also visit the website.

Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and YouTube). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in June 2011, “The Complete Guantánamo Files,” a 70-part, million-word series drawing on files released by WikiLeaks in April 2011, and details about the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, and available on DVD here — or here for the US). Also see my definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all my articles, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation.

21 Responses

  1. Andy Worthington says...

    On Facebook, Jason Pfister wrote:

    Good write up. Those two crooks not only didn’t understand politics well during their illustrious eight year stint (unless “dirty playing” somehow turned into an honorable quality raising ethical standards) but can’t and never would connect with audiences who never would have considered them during any electoral run. It’s still a puzzle how those two managed re-election after only one state alleged voter fraud (another question…just one?!).

  2. Andy Worthington says...

    Dave Brown wrote:

    At the very least, they’ll be scrubbing the rocks for weeks.

  3. Andy Worthington says...

    Thanks, Jason and Dave. Good to hear from you, although I guess Bush gets a free ride now, with the death of Gaddafi dominating the news.

  4. Andy Worthington says...

  5. Andy Worthington says...

    Esteban Chavez wrote:

    what we have is a spectacle, canadas gov. is a vassal of americka. but the OWS changes everything, as its main crux is the ‘Rule of International Law”. what is also up is the pure pig headed arrogance of little “w’ the modern caligula. this should prove to be an interesting day in the dealings of empire in its twilight time. they say gaddafi is dead.

  6. Andy Worthington says...

    Dave Brown wrote:

    I guess this means the death of Awlaki’s 16 year old son gets swept under the carpet as well. http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/190985.html

  7. Andy Worthington says...

    Sadly yes, Dave. I briefly caught that story yesterday — it’s a modern-day version of how oppressors have always behaved really, isn’t it? They would raze cities to the ground if they could — women, children and all.

    And Esteban, great to hear from you. Excellent analysis — Bush as Caligula. I like that.

  8. Andy Worthington says...

    Laurie Ann wrote:

    TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE ♥

  9. Andy Worthington says...

    Thanks, Laurie Ann!

  10. Andy Worthington says...

    Rosie Much wrote:

    Wow hot stuff Andy, hot stuff

  11. Andy Worthington says...

    Andrea Sears wrote:

    So many threads in this bizarre, tattered tapestry. Bush and torture, Libya and Gaddafi, al-Libi’s “suicide” in a Libyan prison after he was found there by HRW and on the day of a visit by Omar Suleiman to Tripoli. It’s like a disgusting ball of crap pulled out of a clogged drain.

  12. Andy Worthington says...

    Thanks, Rosie, for the enthusiastic response, and thanks also, Andrea, for that bleak but appropriate analysis. I covered the convenient death of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi in May 2009, and noted how the US embassy opened three days later, but I hadn’t heard about Omar Suleiman being in Tripoli on the day al-Libi died. Do you have further information about that?

  13. Andy Worthington says...

    Leonardo L Larl ‎wrote:

    … well nothing surprise me anymore in “world politics” but disgust. even more indeed we have to “accept” that those individual being at the top of the “social ladder” consider themselves superior in every sense to the rest of the population, so for them we are just expandable like toilet paper, of course they will never admit that in public instead telling they work for the welfare of the society. The only thing to do left for us is shout our indignation in the streets or get our hands on them, like they’ve done in the Arab Spring. Are we really serious want to change the world we live in or we are too worried not to lose our car, tv and fridge ?

  14. Andy Worthington says...

    Good points and good questions, Leonardo. I too wonder if, in particular, young people in the West can wean themselves off the materialist worldview in which they have been marinaded their whole lives in order to effect meaningful change. I remain hopeful that change will happen, because the Western countries have now failed to be able to guarantee work, and unemployment is relentlessly on the increase, but that, of course, can provoke dangerous anger as well as well-focused indignation.

  15. Andy Worthington says...

  16. Andy Worthington says...

    Thanks, Andrea. I had missed that quote by Evan Kohlmann about Suleiman’s visit to Tripoli at the time of al-Libi’s death. Very interesting indeed.

  17. Andy Worthington says...

    Susan Hall wrote:

    Reposted

  18. Andy Worthington says...

    Josephine Kalata wrote:

    Former Guantánamo Prisoner Speaks Out On Lawsuit Seeking Bush’s Arrest in Canada for Torture
    http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/20/former_guantnamo_prisoner_speaks_out_on

  19. Andy Worthington says...

    Thanks, Susan and Josephine.

  20. morbshock says...

    Torture and even water boarding are the very least so called crimes to be concerned of. They are part of the destructive force called the NWO! The NWO is the fish wish needs to be fried because they have been ruling the world and making laws etc… for centuries. That is why there is so much famine wars cancers etc… The list is endless. Just have an open mind an research the history of the mighty banking industry and who is part of the evil plan to rule the world through trickery and deceit. Open your eyes to this and you will be amazed what the evildoers plan to do to humanity in the name of hope and change.

  21. Obama Administration finally files and indictment against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney | Eslkevin's Blog says...

    […] Rights Groups Call for the Arrest of George W. Bush for Torture as …   http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/…/rights-groups-call-for-the-arr… – Cached […]

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Investigative journalist, author, campaigner, commentator and public speaker. Recognized as an authority on Guantánamo and the “war on terror.” Co-founder, Close Guantánamo and We Stand With Shaker. Also, photo-journalist (The State of London), and singer and songwriter (The Four Fathers).
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