Amnesty International to Canada: Bust Bush

Canada to Amnesty: No way, eh
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 13, 2011 3:00 AM CDT
Updated Oct 13, 2011 4:35 AM CDT
Amnesty International Urges Canada to Arrest George W. Bush
Protesters in Montreal make their feelings towards George W. Bush known during his 2009 visit to Canada, his first foreign trip since leaving office.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

George W. Bush is visiting Canada next week and international law requires the country to arrest him for torture and war crimes ... according to Amnesty International. The group has sent a thousand-page memorandum to Canadian authorities explaining why the former president should be behind bars, Politico reports. Bush's own memoirs detail how he authorized the use of torture on terror suspects, Amnesty Canada's secretary-general says.

Bush canceled a visit to Switzerland last year amid similar calls for his arrest, but it looks like the former president has nothing to fear north of the border. Canada's immigration minister responded to Amnesty's request by sharply criticizing the organization. Amnesty "cherry-picks cases to publicize based on ideology," he said, noting that the group didn't complain when Fidel Castro visited Canada. "This kind of stunt helps explain why so many respected human rights advocates have abandoned Amnesty International," he said. (More Canada stories.)

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