Son of ex-President Indicted in Torture Case

Is this indictment of the son of Liberia's former Presidents a warm up for the indictment of a U.S. ex-Presidents son? And when will H.W. be going to the Hague? Or is it all just a legalistic smoke-screen dreamed up by torture-guy Attorney General Gonzales?

Son of Liberia’s Ex-Leader Charged in Miami Under Anti-Torture Law

By DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: December 7, 2006

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — The son of Charles G. Taylor, Liberia’s former president, was charged Wednesday with two counts of torture and one count of using a firearm in a violent crime during interrogation of an opposition figure in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, according to a federal indictment brought in Miami.

The case is the first in which federal authorities invoked the anti-torture law, which bans extreme interrogation methods. The law gives American courts jurisdiction over reported abuse overseas by American citizens.

Mr. Taylor’s son, Charles McArthur Emmanuel, was born in the United States. Mr. Emmanuel, 29, has pleaded guilty to passport fraud and is in federal custody awaiting sentencing, scheduled for Thursday, on that charge.

Mr. Taylor, the former president, is awaiting trial in The Hague on war crimes charges. ...(full article)