centerforconstitutionalrights

CCR TO FILE WAR CRIMES COMPLAINT AGAINST DONALD RUMSFELD

On November 14, 2006, CCR will file a criminal complaint against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in German Court. The complaint requests the German Federal Prosecutor open an investigation and, ultimately, a criminal prosecution that will look into the responsibility of high-ranking U.S. officials for authorizing war crimes in the context of the so-called "War on Terror." Former White House Counsel (and current Attorney General) Alberto Gonzalez, former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, and other high-ranking U.S. officials are also charged in the complaint. The complaint is brought on behalf of 12 torture victims – 11 Iraqi citizens who were held at Abu Ghraib prison and one Guantánamo detainee – and is being filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Republican Attorneys' Association (RAV) and others, all represented by Berlin Attorney Wolfgang Kaleck. The complaint is related to a 2004 complaint that was dismissed, but the new complaint is filed with substantial new evidence, new defendants and plaintiffs, a new German Federal Prosecutor and, most important, under new circumstances that include the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense and the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 in the U.S. granting officials retroactive immunity from prosecution for war crimes. For full background on the complaint, please see the attached briefing paper.

Background on German Case :: pdf file

International Federation for Human Rights
German Prosecutor Won't Pursue Rumsfeld Case - February 10, 2005
German Prosecutor Won't Pursue Rumsfeld Case - February 10, 2005 - der spiegel
Complaint to the United Nations Charges German Prosecutor Caved in to U.S. Pressure in Dismissing Torture Case Against Rumsfeld and Other High-Ranking Officials For Torture And War Crimes - February 2005 - CCR
The Jurist :: Donald Rumsfeld War Crimes Case - Current with expanded details of crimes