From New York Indymedia

An unprecedented citizens’ tribunal will hear testimony from international expert witnesses and whistle-blowers on war crimes and crimes against humanity alleged against the Bush administration.

Witnesses at the Tribunal include: former commander of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray who exposed the use of information gathered through torture, former arms inspector Scott Ritter, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Dahr Jamail (journalist who has reported extensively from Iraq), Guantanamo prisoners’ lawyer Michael Ratner, Katrina survivors, former State Department officer Ann Wright, among many more.

January’s hearings will be the second and final session of the Commission. Indictments from the first session were formally delivered to George W. Bush at the White House on January 10. Bush’s staff would not receive the indictments at the gate, saying that the president “will not accept any materials from the public.” As TV cameras rolled, a hazmat squad was called in by White House personnel to remove the envelope.

The indictments are based on moral, political, and legal grounds, and are undertaken in fulfillment of the Commission’s Charter: “When the possibility of far-reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity exists, people of conscience have a solemn responsibility to inquire into the nature and scope of these acts and to determine if they do in fact rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity….” The Bush White House has been invited to testify at the Tribunal in its defense.

Friday, January 20, 5pm and Saturday, January 21 at 10am, Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive

Sunday, January 22 at 1pm, Columbia University Law School, 116th & Amsterdam Avenue