Spanish judge keeps Guantanamo probe alive

[cal04]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LH62645.htm

A Spanish judge considering possible criminal action against six former Bush administration officials for torture at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay defied pressure to drop the case on Friday.

But Judge Baltasar Garzon, internationally known for trying to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, accepted that he might not personally take charge of any eventual criminal investigation into officials including former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

On Thursday, Spain's attorney general said Garzon should dismiss the complaint brought by human rights lawyers calling for the officials to be prosecuted.

In a ruling on Friday, Garzon ignored this advice but also avoided a direct confrontation with the attorney general's office by submitting the case to a lottery system which will now assign it at random to one of the six high court judges.

"Let it be assigned to the corresponding court," Garzon said in the ruling.

[Javaman]

1. nice to know that a war crimes case is going to be chosen by lottery.

every day things just get weirder and weirder.