U.S. officials fear war crime charges: newspaper

[Judi Lynn]

UPDATED: 10:12, July 29, 2006
U.S. officials fear war crime charges: newspaper

A law approved by the U.S. Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration concerned that officials and troops linked to detainee abuse may someday face war crime charges, The Washington Post reported Friday.

To dispel the fear, senior administration officials have attempted to push for a new law to help U.S. personnel involved in the detainee abuse scandal fight against prosecution for violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996, according to the report.

The War Crimes Act, endorsed by a Republican-controlled Congress in 1996, criminalizes violations of the Geneva Convention, which governs conduct in war and threatens the death penalty if detainees die in custody from abusive treatment.

Some human rights groups and independent experts say they oppose the undermining of the reach of the War Crimes Act, arguing that it deters government misconduct and saying any step back from the Geneva Convention could provoke mistreatment of captured U.S. military personnel.
(snip/...)

http://english.people.com.cn/200607/29/eng20060729_287820.html

[maddezmom]

1. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2418684