Rumsfeld Charged with War Crimes and Prison Abuse

The Center for Constitutional Rights, a progressive human rights group, recently asked a German prosecutor to investigate Rumsfeld and other US military officials for controversial interrogation techniques at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

The suit, which questions the Administration's knowledge of inhumane torture at Abu Graib, was brought to Germany because a "universal jurisdiction" law. Germany's "universal" law allows the German courts to claim jurisdiction over war crimes even if they were committed outside that country's borders.

In addition to the charges made by the CCR, American filmmaker and military veteran, Cyrus Kar, is filing an individual suit against Rumsfeld. After being held in solitary confinement for several months, Kar is seeking damages for a lack of due process and inhumane treatment at Abu Graib. The first private citizen to file criminal complaint, the US military veteran is suing Rumsfeld and other US officials for depriving him of his Constitutional Rights and violating the Geneva Convention.