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Assistance to victims / Statements / United States / 2011 / February

Cancelled visit of ex-President Bush to Geneva: The call for accountability stronger than ever

​Cancelled visit of ex-President Bush to Geneva:

The call for accountability stronger than ever

 

Geneva, 7 February 2011.

‘The cancellation of the visit is a stark reminder that the quest for legal accountability for the US torture policy will not simply go away’, said Eric Sottas, Secretary General of the OMCT.

‘It shows that the legal case against George W Bush for acts of torture is just too solid to be dismissed’ and that ‘countries around the world with an independent legal system cannot anymore guarantee to President Bush and those responsible for the torture policy not to be arrested or prosecuted in the future.’

The OMCT had sent an open letter to the Swiss authorities last week outlining their legal obligations to open a criminal investigation in case of the visit (see link below).

The OMCT voiced its surprise over press comments of Swiss Justice Ministry officials suggesting a continuous head of state immunity for acts of torture even after his term of office.

‘Let us be clear, this reasoning is fundamentally flawed and does not hold legal scrutiny’, said the OMCT in a preliminary comment. It recalls a series of legal precedents in which former head of states were charged with acts of torture under the UN Convention Against Torture – a position to which Switzerland never objected.

Link to the OMCT letter to the Swiss President

 

For further information please contact:

Mr Gerald Staberock, Deputy Secretary General, OMCT, + 41 22 809 49 39/+41 22 8094923

Mr Eric Sottas, Secretary General, OMCT, +41 809 4939

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Date: February 7, 2011
Activity: Assistance to victims, Urgent campaigns
Type: Statements
Country: Switzerland, United States
Subjects: Justice system, Torture and violence

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