Italy Convicts 23 Americans in CIA Terrorists Kidnapping
04 November 2009 5:46 pm by djjl
http://tinyurl.com/yle5vdv
“MILAN — An Italian judge on Wednesday convicted 23 Americans in absentia of the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street, in a landmark case involving the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program in the war on terrorism.”
Are we going to keep our head stuck in the sand – it seems that the rest of the world may not. Reviewing the first page of a google search shows this story being reported on Huffington Post, WSJ Online, BBC and various British news outlets, etc.
Why not NYT, WaPo, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, etc?
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Where do the Spanish stand on their indictments?
The “Bush 6″? That was rejected, if that’s what you’re referring to:
http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/spain-rejects-bush-six-torture-trial
…um, I wasn’t finished.
It’s a problem when the Obama administration is still implementing rendition, a policy started under Bill Clinton. Though it’s argued that the torture of these people is the *real* issue. Rendition itself some people believing is sometimes necessary.
Thanks Taylor. That is what I was talking about. Take a look at this piece I found while trying to check it out:
The Spanish newspaper Público reported exclusively on Saturday that Judge Baltasar Garzón is pressing ahead with a case against six senior Bush administration lawyers for implementing torture at Guantánamo.
Snip
On Saturday, however, Público reported that Judge Garzón had accepted a lawsuit presented by a number of Spanish organizations — the Asociación Pro Dignidad de los Presos y Presas de España (Organization for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners), Asociación Libre de Abogados (Free Lawyers Association), the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España (Association for Human Rights in Spain) and Izquierda Unida (a left-wing political party) — and three former Guantánamo prisoners (the British residents Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes, and Sami El-Laithi, an Egyptian freed in 2005, who was paralyzed during an incident involving guards at Guantánamo).
Snip
It is, at present, uncertain whether another attempt to stifle Judge Garzón will derail him from his pursuit of the Bush administration’s lawyers, as he is not known for letting adversaries stand in his way. At the end of June, the Spanish Parliament pointedly passed legislation aimed at “ending the practice of letting its magistrates seek war-crime indictments against officials from any foreign country, including the United States,” on the basis that no Spanish Court should be able to judge officials of foreign countries except when the victims are Spanish or the crimes were committed in Spain.
However, on Sunday, when Público spoke to Philippe Sands, the British lawyer, and author of Torture Team, which provided much of the first-hand evidence for Garzón’s case, Sands explicitly stated that there was “no legal barrier” to prevent Judge Garzón’s prosecution from proceeding. He explained that he believed the recent decision by US Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special investigator to investigate cases of torture by the CIA is related to the Spanish lawsuit and the importance it has acquired because of its instigation by Judge Garzón. Sands told Público, “The recent decision by Eric Holder emphasizes how appropriate the Spanish investigation is. Many commentators believe that this decision has had a significant and direct impact in the United States, reminding people that there is an obligation to investigate torture.”
Snip
He concluded by stating that it was “important” that Judge Garzón proceeds with the case in Spain, because, although Eric Holder “has confirmed the importance of the Convention Against Torture, he has taken only a first step that “does not really address the actions of those who were truly responsible for its violation.”
Note: I wish to extend my thanks to Carlos Sardiña Galache for alerting me to the latest developments in this important story, which was not mentioned in the English-speaking press, and for translating crucial passages.
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/09/08/spanish-judge-resumes-torture-case-against-six-senior-bush-lawyers/
Sorry that was so long. What do you think? It seems it’s not about rendition but about torture.
Oh, that case is distinctly about torture.
Aren’t these – Spain, Italy along with Canada (who has apologized to their citizen) members of the US “Coalition of the Willing” – they seemingly are committed to honoring their laws and Constitutions.
Finally on my newspaper page 5A
djjl says:
04 November 2009 at 8:24 pm
not so long, important.
It is very embarrassing as an american.