Rumsfeld et. al. case lodged in Germany

The New York-based civil rights group Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), filed a criminal complaint against ex Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday at the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The previous attempt to bring Rumsfeld and others to justice in 2004 under the Criminal Code of Crimes Against International Law (CCIL) was dropped in February 2005 on the eve of a visit by Rumsfeld to Germany for the Munich Conference on Security Policy. Kay Nehm, then the federal prosecutor claimed that Rumsfeld could be prosecuted in his own country and said.." that there were no indications that the US authorities and courts of the United States of America are refraining, or would refrain,from penal measures as regards the violations described in the complaint.” In 4 years Nehm did not take up a single case under the CCIL.

This new charge sheet has a greater chance of suceeding claims Berlin attorney Wolfgang Kaleck because ;

1. Rumsfeld is no longer able to hide behind his role as an employee of a sovereign power.
2.Monika Harms, who took office earlier this year as the federal prosecutor, may be more amenable to their cause.
3. New evidence such as documents from the 2005 Congressional hearings on the al-Qahtani case and the role of various people in producing the "torture memos".
4. Janis Karpinski the former commander of Abu Ghraib, will appear as a witness.
5. A different and much changed political situation.

CCR President Michael Ratner said on launching this action

“The recently passed Military Commissions Act, which purports to amnesty the alleged war crimes of U.S. officials, is only the most recent illustration of American unwillingness to prosecute Americans. These crimes are not the work of ‘a few bad apples;’ they were planned and executed at the highest levels of the U.S. government.”

In the original action Hannes Honecker, an attorney for the Republican Attorneys' Association (RAV) in Berlin, which represents CCR in Germany said his group agreed to help with CCR's case because it shared the organization's fundamental belief that serious crimes had been committed at Abu Ghraib.

"I fear that the rule of law will perish if we don't further pursue this and that Abu Ghraib will at some point take on significance in our cultural history -- namely that people don't give a damn about law as long as they are in power. This situation is undemocratic, it disregards human rights, it's intolerable and I'm afraid it will become standard if we do not take legal action against it."

.Janis Karpinski who toured the US with Craig Murray earlier this year , resigned from the army in July 2005. She is anxious to reveal the incidents that ended her army career. "I served for 28 years," Karpinski told the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel. "I was entirely committed to the army. Then they make me into a scapegoat."

The case cannot be brought (like the Yugoslav defendents) to the International Criminal Court in The Hague because the US is not a member and will not recognise it. The UN route would be immediately subject to (at least) the US power of veto.

These documents are available (PDF alerts)
1. Introduction in English which makes compelling reading 14 pages

2/3 The Full complaint in German only (so far) 2 parts Part 1 784K Part 2 659K

4. Press Release from Wofgang Kaleck's office (German) - wonderful logo / theme

5. Joint Press release CCC/RAV/ etc.,

It is essential that as much publicity is afforded world wide to this case - please help by circulating, posting, linking information wherever and whenever possible. The next step is Bush and Balir up on war crimes charges.