A MWC Special Features,

Lawyers Against the War Charge George Bush of aiding, abetting and counselling the commission of torture

A Vancouver Lawyer has won a procedural victory in her attempt to prosecute U.S. President George W. Bush under the Criminal Code.

Gail Davison, cofounder of an international group of jurists called "Lawyers Against the War", expressed her delight on October 18 following the lifting of a publication ban on court proceedings against the U.S. president.

The lawyer got the ball rolling against Bush as soon as he set foot on Canadian soil for his November 30, 2004, visit. As a private citizen, she charged him with seven counts of counselling, aiding, and abetting torture as Abu Gharib prison in Iraq and at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay naval base. She had her charges accepted by a justice of the peace in Vancouver Provincial Court.

Bush faces' prison time if the case goes to trial and he is found guilty.

On August 17, 2005, Editorial Manager of MWC News contacted Ms. Davidson asking for permission to publish the reports and details of the charges against President Bush. Gail Davidson replied with the following letter;

Re. your request to republish the 'Prosecuting Bush in Canada' article -  at the pre-hearing conference on August 25th, Mr. Justice Dohm made a temporary gag order and accordingly we cannot discuss the matter with you and we do not authorise publication of any material captured by the publication ban. The matter of the continuation of the publication ban will be argued in court on Sept. 29th.

Sincerely

Gail "

MWC News contacted her following the lifting of a publication ban  and we could obtain the documents.

BACKGROUND: Prosecution of George W. Bush for Torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay Prisons

Lawyers against the War--LAW learned, on November 17 2004 that George W. Bush was coming to Canada on or about November 30 2004. Between November 17, 2004 and November 30, 2004, Lawyers against the War wrote to various ministers of the Crown including the Prime Minister and the Attorney General of Canada advising of the fact that George W. Bush stood accused by credible and knowledgeable groups and individuals throughout the world of the most grave crimes known to law including torture and therefore ought, by law, to be denied entry to Canada. LAW advised the Ministers that George W. Bush’s responsibility for torture and other crimes that he knew were being committed, or ignored through willful blindness, or failed to prevent, derives from his ‘command responsibility' as President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of U.S. Armed Forces and also from his direct involvement in the formulation of policy. LAW received no reply to any of these letters and George W. Bush entered Canada on November 30th 2004.

On November 30 2004, Gail Davidson, co-chair of Lawyers against the War filed an information charging George W. Bush as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces of aiding, abetting and counselling the commission of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay prisons. The information was accepted and filed by the Justice of the Peace at the Provincial Court of British Columbia at 222 Main Street in Vancouver, B.C. under court file number 128960-1.

The Attorney General is entitled to attend this process hearing and to test the evidence and grounds presented by the informant. 

Because the Justice of the Peace failed to refer to information to a judge for a process hearing, Davidson attended at the Courthouse on December 2nd to request a hearing date and was advised to attend in court on December 6th to fix a date for a process hearing. On December 6th the Crown advised the judge that “we will not be simply fixing a date…The Crown is making an application that this information [charging Bush with torture] is a nullity.”

On the request of counsel for the Attorney General of British Columbia, Judge Kitchen proceeded to order the public and the press from the courtroom over the objections of Charlie Smith, then news editor of the Georgia Straight newspaper, and then locked and ‘sealed’ the courtroom. Judge Kitchen proceeded to hear the Crown’s application and dismissed the information as a nullity on the basis that,

“…Mr. Bush is President of the United States, which I concluded is alleging that he is the head of state of the United States, and as such he does have immunity from prosecution under the criminal laws of Canada.” (Transcript page 21 ll. 9-12)

and

“…as far as the jurisdiction under the Criminal Code, I conclude that the concept of diplomatic immunity still applies.” (Transcript page 21 ll. 21-23)

Davidson and LAW filed an application for review of Judge Kitchen’s decisions in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. (Gail Davidson and Lawyers against the War v. Attorney General of British Columbia, Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry No. 23447.)

On August 25th 2005, the Application came before Mr. Justice Dohm and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association—BCCLA, was granted standing to intervene on the issues of the legality of the orders banning publication and sealing the courtroom. Mr. Justice Dohm, at the request of counsel for the Attorney General of British Columbia, and without hearing submissions from Davidson or counsel for BCCLA, made an interim order pending argument on the issue, banning

“publication and disclosure of the name, office or anything tending to identity the proposed defendant in this proceedings and the nature of any proposed charges.”.

On September 29th Mme Justice Satanove directed counsel for the Attorney General of British Columbia to provide written submissions by October 14th as to why a publication ban was appropriate and required and to give the required notice to the media.

Counsel for the Attorney General of British Columbia did not file written submissions or give notice to the media and on October 17, 2005, withdrew the application for a continuing publication ban and consented to orders; terminating the interim publication ban made by Mr. Justice Dohm August 25th 2005, and terminating and setting aside the publication ban issued by Judge Kitchen of the Provincial Court of British Columbia on December 6th 2004.