[imc-presse] PRESS RELEASE: Human Rights Groups ask French Court to subpoena Former U.S. Department of Defense General Counsel in Ongoing Guantánamo Torture

Wed Oct 12 16:47:21 CEST 2016

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PRESS RELEASE

Human Rights Groups Submit File to French Court on Former U.S. Department of
Defense General Counsel in Ongoing Guantánamo Torture Investigation

Attorneys ask investigating judge to subpoena William Haynes as part of
criminal case 

October 12, 2016, New York, Paris, Berlin  Today, supported by the New
York-based Center for Constitutional Rights ( <http://ccrjustice.org/> CCR)
and the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/home.html> ECCHR), two former Guantánamo detainees
Nizar Sassi and Mourad Benchellali urged a French judge to subpoena William
Jim Haynes, the former General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD) during the George W. Bush administration. Sassi and Benchellali
request the Investigative Judge of the High Court of Paris (Cour dAppel de
Paris - Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris) to question Haynes on his role
in the torture and other serious mistreatment of the former detainees. The
CCR and ECCHR detail Haynes responsibility for torture and war crimes
related to detainee treatment in the
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/u-
s-accountability/france.html> 26-page expert report. 

That high-level U.S. officials alleged to bear responsible for torture
continue to enjoy impunity domestically is a stain on the U.S. system of
justice, said Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney at CCR. We hope
that this report will be of use in holding officials such as Haynes
accountable in France, a venue that  unlike the United States  is willing
to investigate torture, and assist in providing some measure of justice to
the torture survivors.

The expert report establishes that Haynes was one of the primary architects
of the Bush administrations interrogation and detention policies. It sets
out the role Haynes played in formulating and approving the list of
interrogation techniques that led directly to torture and abuse at
Guantánamo; allowing the torture and abuse to continue by silencing
objections to the interrogation techniques from the military and other
government departments; and further facilitating the torture and abuse in
various ways. Haynes was DODs General Counsel from 2001-2008 and worked
closely with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during his tenure.

It is important to fully investigate and prosecute high-level officials for
developing, approving and implementing systems of torture," said Andreas
Schüller, ECCHR Program Coordinator on International Crimes and
Accountability. "Only a strong judicial response will contribute to stop
torture globally.

The investigation began in France after the families of French citizens
Sassi and Benchellali, lodged a criminal complaint in November 2002. They
were later joined by a third, Khaled Ben Mustapha. The mens lawyer, William
Bourdon, said William Hayness functions and the positions he adopted in
order to justify torture and prevent the application of the Geneva
Conventions to Guantánamo detainees make him a key actor of the
understanding of the crimes denounced by the plaintiffs. Therefore, his
questioning by the French courts is necessary.

CCR and ECCHR have previously submitted a similar
<http://ccrjustice.org/files/MILLER-DOSSIER-FINAL_en_20140226_public.pdf>
file and  <https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/void(0)>
documents explaining the role of former Guantánamo prison chief, retired
U.S. General Geoffrey Miller, to the French court. CCR and ECCHRs
submissions were relied upon when a French
<https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/05/Decision%20-%20En
glish.pdf> appeals court, the Chambre de linstruction de la Cour dappel de
Paris, reversed a decision by the Investigating Judge to deny the victims
request to subpoena Miller. Miller was summoned to appear in March, but was
a no-show. On July 20, 2016, Bourdon requested that an international arrest
warrant be issued by the Investigative Judge against Miller.  

Contact: 

Dorothee Benz, 212.614.6480,  <mailto:press at ccrjustice.org>
press at ccrjustice.org   

Anabel Bermejo, +49 30 6981 9797, bermejo at ecchr.eu 

Please excuse double posting.

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Anabel Bermejo 

Media & Communications

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)

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