By Center for Constitutional Rights

Vancouver and New York— Today, four torture survivors
filed a complaint against Canada with the United Nations Committee against
Torture for the country’s failure to investigate and prosecute former
President George W. Bush during his visit to British Columbia last year.
As a signatory to the Convention against Torture, Canada has an obligation
to investigate and prosecute a torture suspect on its soil. This is the
first time a complaint concerning torture allegations against a high-level
U.S. official has been filed with the U.N. Committee. The Canadian Centre
for International Justice (CCIJ) and the U.S.-based Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed the complaint on the men’s behalf.

“Canada has the jurisdiction and the obligation to prosecute a torture
suspect present in Canada, including a former head of state, and even one
from a powerful country,” said Matt Eisenbrandt, CCIJ’s Legal Director.
“Canada’s failure to conduct a criminal investigation and prosecution
against Mr. Bush when there was overwhelming evidence against him
constitutes a clear violation of its international obligations and its own
policy not to be a safe haven for torturers.”

The four men – Hassan bin Attash, Sami el-Hajj, Muhammed Khan Tumani and
Murat Kurnaz – found their long quest for justice stymied in October 2011.
Canada’s Attorney General refused to conduct a criminal investigation
against Mr. Bush, and the Attorney General of British Columbia swiftly

intervened to shut down a private criminal prosecution submitted to a provincial court in her jurisdiction during Mr. Bush’s
visit. This occurred despite the groups’ submission of a 69-page draft
indictment and approximately 4000 pages of evidence against Bush consisting of
extensive reports and investigations conducted by multiple U.S. agencies
and the United Nations.

The Committee against Torture can require Canada to explain the actions
that led to the case being closed without any investigation and can then
issue a decision on whether Canada has breached its obligations under the
convention.  If the committee finds Canada in violation, it can specify
appropriate remedial measures.

“Through this process, the world can learn whether Canada’s actions were
grounded in law or in politics. Canada’s refusal to investigate and
prosecute George W. Bush marked a low-point in the ongoing struggle to end
impunity for torturers and denied these men the opportunity to achieve
some measure of justice,” said Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney
at CCR and legal representative for the men. “They now call upon the
Committee to send a clear message that states must uphold their
obligations under the Convention against Torture and cannot allow other
factors – including political considerations – to interfere with the
commitment to end impunity for torturers.”

Ratified by 153 countries around the world, the U.N. Convention against
Torture requires states to investigate alleged torturers present on their soil and submit them for
prosecution—or extradite them to another country for prosecution. Canada
implemented this provision of the Convention into its domestic criminal
code and explicitly authorizes prosecution for torture occurring outside
Canadian borders. Canada, along with 55 other countries, allows
individuals to file petitions with the U.N. Committee for alleged breaches
of the Convention; the United States has not signed on to this provision.

In both Afghanistan and Guantánamo, the four men who submitted the
complaint survived inhumane treatment including beatings, being hung from
walls or ceilings, sleep, food and water deprivation, and exposure to
extreme temperatures. U.S. officials eventually released Kurnaz after five
years, and both el-Hajj, a reporter with Al-Jazeera, and Khan Tumani, 17
at the time of his detention, after approximately seven years, without
ever bringing charges against them. Bin Attash, only 16 when he was
detained, remains at Guantánamo, though he has never been formally charged
with any wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, CCIJ and CCR submitted a
report about the Bush torture case to the Committee against Torture during an
examination of Canada’s compliance with the Convention. The Committee, in
its concluding observations, called on the Canadian government to “take
all necessary measures with a view to ensuring the exercise of the
universal jurisdiction over persons responsible for acts of torture,
including foreign perpetrators who are temporarily present in Canada.”

In February 2011, the Center for Constitutional Rights, on behalf of two
survivors and supported by CCIJ and other human rights organizations,
attempted to initiate criminal proceedings against Bush ahead of a
scheduled visit to Switzerland. Bush cancelled the trip after news of the
prosecution, and the apparent unwillingness of Swiss authorities to stop
it, became known.

Read the complaint at CCR’s case page

The Canadian Centre for International Justice works with survivors of
genocide, torture and other atrocities to seek redress and bring
perpetrators to justice. The CCIJ seeks to ensure that individuals present
in Canada who are accused of responsibility for serious human rights
violations are held accountable and their victims recognized, supported
and compensated. For more information visit
www.ccij.ca and follow @CCIJ_CCJI.