BERLIN
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, or ECCHR, filed on Wednesday a criminal complaint against former CIA head George Tenet, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other members of former U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration over torture committed by the CIA.
The ECCHR's criminal complaint came after a scathing report by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee which said that the use of torture by the CIA following the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001 was more brutal and extensive than initially thought.
The ECCHR brought the accusations against Tenet, Rumsfeld and other members of the Bush administration over "the war crime of torture," according to the German Code of Crimes against International Law.
“The architects of the torture system -- politicians, officials, secret service agents, lawyers and senior army officials -- should be brought before the courts,” ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck said.
Kaleck appeared in front of the German Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs to discuss the issue on Wednesday.
“By investigating members of the Bush administration, Germany can help to ensure that those responsible for abduction, abuse and illegal detention do not go unpunished," he added.
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report caused an international outcry. It revealed that the CIA employed the use of nudity, waterboarding -- which it said induces convulsions and vomiting. Sleep deprivation for as long as 180 hours and unnecessary “rectal hydration” were also used.
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