Sep 28 2008
Torture and Hypocrisy
The trial of Charles Taylor Jr. is about to begin in the Miami. It is a test of a United States law enacted in 1994 banning torture of prisoners in foreign countries. While Charles Jr. is facing trial in Miami his father is standing before a court in the Hague for his own war crimes.
The trial of Taylor Jr. — whose father, Liberian ex-President Charles Taylor Sr., is standing trial in The Hague, Netherlands, on war crime charges — will present a unique challenge to prosecutors.
The case tests a 1994 United States law saying those accused of committing acts of torture overseas can be tried in a U.S. federal court. (Source: CNN)
These trials raise serious questions of hypocrisy in the American stand on the practice of torture.
The indictment alleges that under his father’s presidency, Taylor Jr. became the leader of the Anti-Terrorist Unit and the Liberian National Police. Both groups are accused of abducting, torturing and killing people. Court documents say people were brought to the presidential compound, where the acts occurred.
As part of jury selection, Prosecutor Karen Rochlin questioned prospective jurors about their opinions of the allegations of torture occurring at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Is it OK for the U.S. to investigate torture overseas, if parts of the U.S. government, according to reports, have not behaved so well?” she asked.(Source: CNN)
I think we have a little dirty laundry to take care of right here at home. Like investigating our own activities at Gitmo. Whatever is decided in Miami at the trial of Charles Taylor Jr. is going to be tainted by our own activities in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. We have violated the Geneva Conventions and put our own troops at danger in doing so. Some one has to answer for it.
