Court date to be set for Torture Charges against Bush
Thursday, December 2, 2004
Lawyers against the War applied today to have the torture charges against George Bush set before a judge to determine whether a summons or warrant should issue. A date will be set in BC Provincial Court, Criminal Division, at Vancouver on Monday December 6th 2004.
Torture charges against Bush were laid November 30th 2004 by Gail Davidson, co-chair of Lawyers against the War–LAW, under provisions enacted pursuant to the U.N. Convention against Torture, ratified by Canada in 1987 and the United States in 1994. The charges concern the well known abuses of prisoners held by US Armed Forces in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Because Bush is not a Canadian citizen the consent of the Attorney General of Canada is required within 8 days in order for the prosecution to continue.
LAW has requested that Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler review the evidence upon which the charges are based before deciding whether to consent to the prosecution.
Canada has a duty under the Convention against Torture to ‘take effective measures to prevent torture’.
LAW is an international group of jurists and others based in Canada with members in 14 countries.
Notice to LAW members
Let us know if you want to help
Michael Mandel, Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3. Tel: 416 736-5039, Fax:
416-736-5736, Email: [email protected]
Gail Davidson, Tel: 604 738 0338; Fax: 604 736 1175, Email: [email protected]
