Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 18, 2006 5:38:16 GMT -5
By MARK MAZZETTI, New York Times
Pressing their case before Congress last week, Bush administration lawyers warned that granting Geneva Conventions protections to Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners raised an unsavory prospect: that cases of harsh treatment of detainees by American troops and civilian officials could be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act of 1996.
The lawyers argued that the vague terms of the conventions opened the door for overzealous prosecutors to bring charges against troops who simply followed current military regulations regarding detainees.
The War Crimes Act is the only vehicle for American citizens to be tried in federal courts for violations of the conventions, and it carries the death penalty for some abuses. It was passed during the height of concern over atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda, and gave Washington the power to prosecute any war crime involving an American perpetrator or victim.
So has any American - or anyone - ever been punished under the War Crimes Act?
No. Only the Department of Justice can bring charges under the act, and the Pentagon can refer soldiers for prosecution, yet the military prefers to prosecute troops under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is why all troops charged with detainee abuse have been prosecuted in military and not federal courts.
Source : New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/weekinreview/16basicB.html?_r=1&oref=slogi
Pressing their case before Congress last week, Bush administration lawyers warned that granting Geneva Conventions protections to Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners raised an unsavory prospect: that cases of harsh treatment of detainees by American troops and civilian officials could be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act of 1996.
The lawyers argued that the vague terms of the conventions opened the door for overzealous prosecutors to bring charges against troops who simply followed current military regulations regarding detainees.
The War Crimes Act is the only vehicle for American citizens to be tried in federal courts for violations of the conventions, and it carries the death penalty for some abuses. It was passed during the height of concern over atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda, and gave Washington the power to prosecute any war crime involving an American perpetrator or victim.
So has any American - or anyone - ever been punished under the War Crimes Act?
No. Only the Department of Justice can bring charges under the act, and the Pentagon can refer soldiers for prosecution, yet the military prefers to prosecute troops under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is why all troops charged with detainee abuse have been prosecuted in military and not federal courts.
Source : New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/weekinreview/16basicB.html?_r=1&oref=slogi