Kuala Lumpur tribunal finds Bush guilty torture

A five-panel tribunal composed of esteemed judges unanimously delivered a guilty verdict against former United States President George W. Bush and his associates at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal hearing trying charges of the crime of torture and war crimes.

Those charged included Bush, former Vice President Richard Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Bush's former Counsel Alberto Gonzales and four other lesser officials. On May 11, they were all found guilty as charged and convicted as war criminals for “Torture and Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment of the Complainant War Crime Victims.”

Earlier in the week, the tribunal heard the testimonies of three witnesses. Testimony showed that Abbas Abid had his fingernails removed by pliers. Ali Shalal was attached with bare electrical wires and hung from the wall. Moazzam Begg was beaten and put in solitary confinement. Jameelah Hameedi was almost nude and humiliated, used as a human shield while being transported by helicopter. All these witnesses have residual injuries today.

The tribunal also heard two other statutory declarations of Iraqi citizen Ali Shalal and Rhuhel Ahmed, a British citizen.

Of the dozens of people's tribunals that anti-war and human rights activists organized around the world starting in 2003-2004, the Kuala Lumpur Tribunal has been able to extend its work the longest.

The chief prosecutor for the Kuala Lumpur Tribunal, Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, made the following statement to explain his view of the importance of the convictions:

"The decision today by the KL War Crimes Tribunal has vindicated the integrity of international law. Its unanimous five-judges panel decision has resoundingly — like the four decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court — declared that it is not for the president of the U.S. to refashion international humanitarian law to suit the country’s own illegal ends. In particular the decision makes clear that the President of the US and his cohorts cannot authorize the infliction of torturous acts — in violation of international law, including the Convention on Torture and the Geneva Conventions.

"As the trial showed, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, with the support and connivance of their legal advisors, threw their captives into a legal black hole, locking them for years in a constitutional limbo. They asserted — but refused to prove — that their captives were guilty of crimes. And tortured them in ways that defies belief.

"What is the effect of this decision? As the highest UK Court decided when it refused immunity to [Gen. Augusto] Pinochet, the former Chilean president: torture is a universal crime. It is an international war crime against all of mankind. The judges there said that international law makes clear that there is no safe haven for those who carry out or order torture.

“And that there is an obligation by States to capture and try war criminals if they enter their countries. Indeed the courts in some countries — like Spain and Germany — have already initiated such action.

"Now countries will have this conviction — which also so declared — to support any such action they may wish to take. We must emphasize that this trial was carried out with scrupulous regard to fairness and justice on the basis of rules established by the Nuremberg Charter and the International Criminal Court. Although duly served, the accused chose not to be represented, and in accordance with rules for international tribunals, a defense team was appointed on their behalf as amici curiae.

“In addition, the memoirs of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were supplied and cited to the court — which presented their versions and justifications of events. In a sense they ‘spoke’ to the Tribunal through their writings.

"How long before war criminals are brought to book? It took many years before some Nazi war criminals were indicted and finally convicted.

“Pinochet was arrested and arraigned before a UK court while in London for medical treatment some eight years after he ended his term as president. For some more powerful persons it may well take longer. But the message is clear: anytime, anywhere, those convicted today for war crimes, may be similarly arrested and charged.

"Thus may the rule of international law be vindicated. And justice restored for those they threw into a legal black hole and tortured so viciously."

To read more about the tribunal, including its Final Judgment, visit brusselltribunal.org.