Bush administration officials accused of justifying torture

By Sarah Duffy

Staff Writer

A Spanish court has taken steps towards opening a criminal investigation of six former high-level Bush administration officials with allegations that they provided the legal framework to justify the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Among the six who are accused of violating international law are former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and David S. Addington, who was the chief of staff and legal adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.

A 98-page complaint was prepared by Spanish lawyers and filed on March 17 by the Association for the Dignity of Prisoners, a Spanish human rights group. The complaint is based on the Geneva Convention and the 1984 Convention against Torture, which is binding in 145 countries, including Spain and the United States. The case was given to human rights crusader Judge Baltasar Garzón, who gained international fame after providing an arrest order for Augusto Pinochet for the murder, disappearance, and torture of Spanish citizens under his military dictatorship in Chile.

If the case does proceed, it will represent a step towards legal accountability of top Bush administration officials who are being accused of torture and mistreatment of prisoners in the campaign against terror. However, some American experts said the significance could be more symbolic than practical, and that it is unlikely the warrants would lead to arrests if the accused officials do not leave the United States.

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