Neocons Fear War Crimes charges - Seek Shield

[Laura]

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060728-013106-7191r

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- White House officials are drafting legislation to protect U.S. personnel from certain war crimes prosecutions, The Washington Post reported.

The War Crimes Act of 1996 has Bush administration officials concerned that officials and troops involved in handling terrorism detainee matters could be accused of war crimes and prosecuted in U.S. courts, the newspaper said.

Senior officials are working on legislation that would provide protection for U.S. personnel involved in the terrorism fight, against prosecution for past violations of the War Crimes Act -- which criminalizes Geneva Conventions violations and could result in the death penalty in cases in which detainees die from abusive treatment in U.S. custody.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Conventions apply to the detainees suspected of terrorism, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spoke privately with Republican lawmakers about the need for protections, the newspaper reported, citing someone who heard his remarks.

The source said Gonzales told the lawmakers U.S. personnel who were acting under a 2002 presidential order -- which the Supreme Court declared illegal -- and under Justice Department legal opinions that have been withdrawn under fire, needed legal protection.

 

[Laura]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/07/28/shield_sought_for_us_personnel_from_1996_war_crimes_act/

Shield sought for US personnel from 1996 war crimes act

Charges feared in detainee cases

By R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post | July 28, 2006

WASHINGTON -- An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes and prosecuted in US courts.

Senior officials have responded by drafting legislation that would grant US personnel involved in the terrorism fight new protections against prosecution for past violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996. That law criminalizes violations of the Geneva Conventions governing conduct in war and threatens the death penalty if US-held detainees die in custody from abusive treatment.

In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that said international conventions apply to the treatment of such detainees, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has spoken privately with Republican lawmakers about the need for such protections, according to someone who heard his remarks last week.

Gonzales told the lawmakers that a shield was needed for actions taken by US personnel under a 2002 presidential order, which the Supreme Court declared illegal, and under Justice Department legal opinions that have been withdrawn under fire, the source said. A spokeswoman for Gonzales, Tasia Scolinos, declined to comment on Gonzales's remarks.

Language in the administration's draft, which was prepared by officials in the Justice and Defense departments, seeks to protect US personnel by ruling out detainee lawsuits to enforce Geneva protections and by making US enforcement of the War Crimes Act subject to US -- not foreign -- understandings of what the Conventions require.

The aim, Justice Department lawyers say, is also to take advantage of US legal precedents that limit sanctions to conduct that ''shocks the conscience." This phrase allows the courts to consider the context in which abusive treatment occurs, such as an urgent need for information, the lawyers say -- even though the Geneva prohibitions are absolute.

 

[Laura]

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004360292

U.S. Called To Shut Down Secret Prisons

July 28, 2006 9:02 a.m. EST

Nji Che - All Headline News

Geneva, Switzerland (AHN) - The United Nations on Friday called on the U.S. to immediately shut down any secret detention services at its disposal. The statement added that Washington must also ensure that those whose detention was linked to an arm conflict gain access to the Red Cross.

The AP quotes a U.N. rights panel report as saying that, "The committee is concerned by credible and uncontested information that the state party has seen fit to engage in the practice of detaining people secretly and in secret places for months and years on end."

According to the panel, detaining people in conditions that do not respect the Geneva Convention is an abuse of the rights of the prisoners' families. The committee met last week to look into the United States' decision to comply with the U.N.-sponsored International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The document also said the United States must detain people in places in which they can be covered by the protection of the law. It also called on the U.S. to, "grant prompt access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to any person detained in connection with an armed conflict."