Lawyers for several Abu Ghraib and Guantamo Bay detainees filed suit in Germany against Donald Rumsfeld and a number of other defendants. German law allows filing of war crimes charges regardless of where the cases are alleged to have occurred.
Charges are being filed by attorney Wolfgang Kaleck at the head of an effort backed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights and others. You can read the whole list of defendants here. Notables include Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Alberto Gonzales and William Haynes.
Equally notable is the case's lead witness, former Brigadier General Janis Karpinski:
Former U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the one-time commander of all U.S. military prisons in Iraq, said she would testify against her superiors because only a handful of low-ranking soldiers have been convicted over the abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail.
Karpinski, who was relieved of her command and demoted to colonel last year, said she wanted to "be a voice for my soldiers."
"They were tried and convicted in the world court before they ever set foot in any courtroom ... while people who are far more culpable and responsible have walked away blameless," Karpinski said during a presentation of the case in Berlin.
Comments (2)
I saw Karpinski speak. She was, shall we say, less than sharp. I asked her how torture could take place within 100 yards of her batallion commander's quarters without her knowing about it. No answer. It seems to me Karpinski is trying to expiate her guilt.
As to Rumsfeld , the interesting twist is that if Germany indicts him for war crimes/crimes against humanity, any signatory to the Rome Statute is obligated to prosecute or extradite him to Germany.
Posted by tim | November 14, 2006 03:47 PM
Posted on November 14, 2006 15:47
That was my impression of Karpinski's goal just from the articles. I'm unclear how she can claim that she wasn't responsible for the actions of her subordinates, but the people above her in the hierarchy are.
I view her more as a "state's witness" in this case.
Posted by parakkum | November 14, 2006 04:05 PM
Posted on November 14, 2006 16:05