Rights group wants Ottawa to charge Cheney in torture

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO — A human rights group is urging the federal government to bring criminal charges against former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney, accusing him of playing a role in the torture of detainees during the years of the Bush administration.

Cheney will be in Vancouver on Monday to promote his book In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, which outlines his views of the war on terror and other events during the administration of president George W. Bush.

Human Rights Watch claims that overwhelming evidence of torture by the Bush administration, including at least two cases involving Canadian citizens, are grounds for Canada to investigate Cheney and comply with the Convention Against Torture.

The New York-based group also said Canadian law provides for jurisdiction over an individual for torture and other crimes if the complainant is a Canadian citizen, even for offences committed outside Canada.

It said in a news release issued Saturday that Canada had ratified the Convention Against Torture in 1987 and incorporated its provisions into the Canadian Criminal Code.

"The U.S. has utterly failed to meet its legal obligation to investigate torture by the Bush administration, but that shouldn’t let other countries off the hook," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

"Cheney’s visit to Vancouver is a rare opportunity to remedy this shameful failure to uphold the rule of law."

A spokesperson for Cheney could not be reached for comment, but in the past the former vice-president has been a staunch defender of the policies of the Bush years.

He frequently appeared on the U.S. talk-show circuit to say he’s unapologetic about waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques. He has insisted such tactics saved "hundreds of thousands of lives."

The complaint from the human rights group came on the heels of a New Democrat MP’s call on Friday for the federal government to bar Cheney from entering Canada.

Don Davies sent a letter to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney urging the federal government to deny Cheney entry, also citing the treatment of detainees during the Bush administration years.

Human Rights Watch said it had documented the role of senior Bush administration officials in authorizing torture of detainees, including "waterboarding" and prolonged exposure to heat and cold.


(2011-9-25/TheChronicleHerald.ca)