Life Is Not Purgatory
Monday, November 07, 2005
R v. Bush?
I stumbled upon something the other day that really piqued my interest. A story appeared on Al-Jazeera that indicated that a group of lawyers based in Canada had filed an ‘information’ in the BC Provincial Court contending that George W. Bush counseled, or was negligent in preventing the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay and therefore committed an offence under section 269(1) and 22(1) or 22(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
The story was only on Al-Jazeera for 24 hours before it disappeared and a co-worker here brought it to my attention and I started looking into it. Apparently this group of lawyers was attempting to file these charges against the Bush, but the Attorney General of Canada contended the charges were a nullity because of ‘diplomatic immunity’ they also asked for and were granted a order banning the publication of his decision, the proceedings as wells as the transcript and any exhibits or documents. A sweeping publication ban and that was in December 2004. In August 2005, The BC Civil Liberties Association intervened in the case and a new interim publication ban was issued banning ”publication and disclosure of the name, office, or anything tending to identify the proposed defendant in this proceedings and the nature of the proposed charges.”
The publication ban was vacated by B.C Supreme Court Justice Santanove in October and that is when the Al-Jazeera story hit. I’m truly furious at the government for trying to muzzle the story. As politically motivated as these charges are, I can truly see no lawful reason for silencing the media… and that should alarm us all.
Now, its not politically wise for us as a nation to call the leader of the world's only declared superpower, and our largest trading partner a 'war criminal' but we recently amended the Criminal Code of Canada to allow us jurisdiction to prosecute individuals who violate International treaties against torture such as the Geneva Conventions... and that amendment is "Not withstanding anything in this Act or any other Act" which does mean that 'diplomatic immunity would not apply... now I'm not suggesting that we indict the President of the United States with a crime, but I do think that our citizens have every right in the world to speak their minds and use every lawful resource at their disposal to get their point across.
I’m still looking into it but here is what I have so far. As I get more information, I’ll post it here…
Backgrounder from Lawyers against the War
Information Filed with the BC Provincial Court (Page 1, Page 2)
I stumbled upon something the other day that really piqued my interest. A story appeared on Al-Jazeera that indicated that a group of lawyers based in Canada had filed an ‘information’ in the BC Provincial Court contending that George W. Bush counseled, or was negligent in preventing the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay and therefore committed an offence under section 269(1) and 22(1) or 22(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
The story was only on Al-Jazeera for 24 hours before it disappeared and a co-worker here brought it to my attention and I started looking into it. Apparently this group of lawyers was attempting to file these charges against the Bush, but the Attorney General of Canada contended the charges were a nullity because of ‘diplomatic immunity’ they also asked for and were granted a order banning the publication of his decision, the proceedings as wells as the transcript and any exhibits or documents. A sweeping publication ban and that was in December 2004. In August 2005, The BC Civil Liberties Association intervened in the case and a new interim publication ban was issued banning ”publication and disclosure of the name, office, or anything tending to identify the proposed defendant in this proceedings and the nature of the proposed charges.”
The publication ban was vacated by B.C Supreme Court Justice Santanove in October and that is when the Al-Jazeera story hit. I’m truly furious at the government for trying to muzzle the story. As politically motivated as these charges are, I can truly see no lawful reason for silencing the media… and that should alarm us all.
Now, its not politically wise for us as a nation to call the leader of the world's only declared superpower, and our largest trading partner a 'war criminal' but we recently amended the Criminal Code of Canada to allow us jurisdiction to prosecute individuals who violate International treaties against torture such as the Geneva Conventions... and that amendment is "Not withstanding anything in this Act or any other Act" which does mean that 'diplomatic immunity would not apply... now I'm not suggesting that we indict the President of the United States with a crime, but I do think that our citizens have every right in the world to speak their minds and use every lawful resource at their disposal to get their point across.
I’m still looking into it but here is what I have so far. As I get more information, I’ll post it here…
Backgrounder from Lawyers against the War
Information Filed with the BC Provincial Court (Page 1, Page 2)
