The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has called for Switzerland to open a criminal investigation against former US President George W. Bush.
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In an open letter published on Thursday, the OMCT told the Swiss authorities that they had the duty to do so under domestic law as well as under the UN Convention Against Torture.
The letter comes in response to Bush’s upcoming visit to Geneva; he has been invited to attend a gala dinner on February 12. It states that there is a compelling body of evidence about the US policy of torture and ill-treatment under the Bush administration.
According to the OMCT, these policies are well documented and to a large extent publicly acknowledged, including by the former president’s own admissions of having authorised interrogation techniques that constitute torture.
Bush’s visit has angered a number of groups that have joined forces to file a collective complaint against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Iraq. Demonstrations are also planned in Geneva.
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