Polish Prosecutor Looks Backward; US Prosecutor Lets Statute of Limitations Tick Away
ACLU reports that Rahim al-Nashiri’s lawyer’s request to include their client’s treatment at a black site in Poland in the country’s investigation has been successful.
The Polish prosecutor will investigate the detention and torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at a black site in Poland after he was kidnapped and transported there by the CIA.
[snip]
Al-Nashiri, who is accused in the 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing, was granted the status of “injured party” in Poland’s ongoing investigation into torture in response to a September 21 petition from his lawyers.
Jameel Jaffer uses this event to focus on how little our own country has done to hold its torturers accountable.
Today’s announcement that Poland will investigate the torture of Mr. al-Nashiri serves as a stark reminder of how little has been done in the U.S. to hold top officials accountable for torture. Holding torturers accountable is essential to restoring American credibility at home and abroad – the U.S. can no longer remain silent as, one by one, other nations begin to reckon with their own agents’ complicity in the torture program through prosecutions and judicial inquiries.
Of course, at the rate we’re going, there will be no accountability. The statute of limitations on the destruction of the torture tapes will expire in just 11 days. At that point, the CIA will have officially gotten away with destroying the evidence of their torture, including evidence pertaining to al-Nashiri himself.
I was thinking about that very thing, just this morning on my way to work. I can just imagine the political calculations going on with Obamaco (bc nothing is ever about the law, or what is right, or just, but only about what is a politically opportunistic way to utilize their political resource – i.e., DOJ prosecutors).
With election dates, I’m thinking they basically want to lie (as opposed to lay) low.
As disgusting as Obama is, his cats paws at DOJ are worse.
At the very least for political protection, I too can’t imagine the WH or Holder approving at this late stage any Durham indictments before Nov. 2.
After? We all can hope, but I’m not going to hold my breath…anymore.
The Obama Way Forward: jogging the clock. By proxy.
I wonder if, after the statue of limitations runs out on Bush & Co., the Republicans will have an epiphany on the wrongness of torture and come after Obama for his cover up.
This sounds like a working definition of poetic justice. Or injustice. Or something.
Surtt @4: poetic justice can be so delicious.
Drove by that black site with my Polish relatives in 06/01.
From “USA must investigate detainee abuse claims in Wikileaks files” (Oct. 22, 2010 with embedded video):
Statute of limitations on torture limited to 11 days …..disheartening
Statute of limitations on murder resulting from “White House Enhanced interrogation”, like crucifixion, unlimited…. so encouraging, so much of a pain in the butt for little george, emperor of torture in the 21st century.
And hence, the early advice regarding “enhanced interrogation,”: If the prisoner dies, you’re doing it wrong.
Seems like they got it wrong a lot.
The United States: Murder, Inc.
Bob in AZ
I haven’t got time to look up a citation right now, but I believe the USA PATRIOT Act did away with the eight-year statute of limitations on torture and conspiracy to commit torture. Of course, that may not be relevant to the mere destruction of evidence.
As war crimes, arguably; as traditionally defined in the criminal statutes, no the statute is still eight years (some may be ten now can’t remember all of them). However, the crime at issue with the torture tapes is not torture itself, but the obstruction of justice through willful destruction of evidence, which does indeed carry a traditional five year statute.
Statute of limitations, smatute of flimitations.
The thing about the rule of law is that, once you cut yourself a big, fat exemption to it, you can’t be sure that someone else won’t cut themselves a bigger one, given the opportunity. I see no reason why some future administration–left/reformist or right/opportunist–couldn’t drag the Obamanites out of retirement to face torturers, extraordinary tribunals, and/or summary execution for crimes, some of which might be defined ex post facto.
The negative feedback for what the US has done will come out of Europe. If the Republicans come in big in ten days, that feedback will become even stronger. It is doubtful that even the British Conservative Power will be able to stomach a Rethug Party strongly indebted to the T-Party. Americans are very parochial. But we no longer control our future. This is going to cost us big time.
Is there anything that can be done to not allow the statute to run out or at least bring some level of legal movement before the next 10 days?
How can the courts allow the statute to expire if there are investigations and cases addressing the destruction in progress? IANAL.
This is a great post.
And an even better post once I read it the second time.