It was recently announced that President Bush has canceled his upcoming trip February 12 trip to Switzerland, following a request by human rights organizations that the Swiss Justice Ministry open a criminal investigation into the former president based on his recent admission that he ordered the waterboarding of terrorist suspects. The groups argued that under the UN Convention Against Torture and domestic law, Swiss authorities were obligated to undertake investigation into acts of torture ordered by any individual on Swiss territory – including heads of state.The Washington Post has more on the story here.
Despite the extensive documentation that senior Bush administration orchestrated, ordered, and justified torture - including President Bush’s admission in his recent memoir, the United States has yet to undertake any effort to hold these officials accountable. AFJ’s short film, Tortured Law, examines the role that Office of Legal Counsel lawyers played in authorizing torture and calls for a full-scale investigation into their actions by the Department of Justice. The Alliance for Justice believes that accountability is essential to regaining our nation’s stature as a leader in promoting human rights and the rule of law, as well as to ensuring that this sort of miscarriage of justice never recurs.
