icai - International Campaign against Impunity


Kissinger Watch #5 - 07



Kissinger testimony pleas refused

Giles Tremlett in Madrid Guardian Tuesday April 23, 2002

Britain has turned down requests from judges in Spain and France to interview former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger as a witness in cases they are pursuing for genocide, terrorism, torture and murder against General Pinochet and others. The Home Office has told Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon and French judge Sophie-Helene Chateau that their requests for Mr Kissinger, who will be in London tomorrow to give a speech at the Royal Albert Hall, to be questioned by international commissions did not comply with British law. "They are free to pursue it with the US authorities," a British official said last night. The decision to turn down the requests from Spain and France signalled that the Home Office agreed with Mr Kissinger and the US government that all the judges' questions should be directed to the state department. "The US department of state's defensive response to this inquiry can only raise questions about what Mr Kissinger has to hide," Joan Garces and Manuel Murillo, Spanish lawyers representing 4,000 victims of General Pinochet and other Latin American dictators, said in a statement. The prosecuting lawyers in Madrid, who had not seen the formal British reply to Judge Garzon, said that Britain could not legally claim Mr Kissinger enjoyed some form of "immunity" from being interviewed. They pointed out that crimes of genocide and terrorism, even if committed in Latin America, were criminal offences in Spain and had been under investigation since 1996. They specifically needed to question Mr Kissinger about the Condor Plan, under which Latin America's military regimes agreed jointly to eradicate their opponents in the late 1970s. They said the question of legal immunity, which was turned down by the law lords in the case of General Pinochet, did not apply in this case because Mr Kissinger had not been charged or named as a suspect and was only wanted as a witness with potentially important evidence. If the requests had been granted, Mr Kissinger would have been summoned to give evidence on oath in a magistrate's court where he would have been questioned by the presiding district judge or the foreign judges. Mr Garces said last night that there was no way of challenging the Home Office's decision. It was not clear last night whether Judge Garzon, who had General Pinochet arrested in London two years ago, would seek some other reason for travelling to London to interview Mr Kissinger.

OVERVIEW - Kissinger Watch #5

1.		'WAR CRIMES' CLAIMS: Kissinger begins to stoop under the weight of legal scrutiny opinion bears down Pinochet judge leaves the way open for charge against Kissinger Court rejects application to arrest Nixon's right-hand man over covert CIA activities in the 1970's

2.		Kissinger admits possible errors on Vietnam

3.		Explanatory note regarding legal proceedings sparked by Kissinger’s visit to London

4.		APPLICATION FOR A WARRANT FOR THE ARREST OF HENRY ALFRED KISSINGER

5.		REASONS for refusing the issue of a warrant

6.		Why Milosevic, but not Kissinger?

7.		Kissinger testimony pleas refused

8.		Chile/UK: UK shirks its obligation to cooperate in human rights investigation

9.		The government of the United Kingdom DID approve its request to question Henry Kissinger

10.		Statement: Regarding the Spanish court’s request to question Mr. Henry Kissinger / J. Garces & M. Murillo

11.		Spanish superjudge asks USA for permission to quiz Kissinger

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