Bush, Blair guilty in ‘war crimes trial’
Malaysia: Former US president George W Bush and British
ex-prime minister Tony Blair were Tuesday found guilty at a mock
tribunal in Malaysia for committing “crimes against peace” during the
Iraq war.
The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal, part of an initiative by former
Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad — a fierce critic of the Iraq war —
found the former leaders guilty after a four-day hearing.
“The Tribunal deliberated over the case and decided unanimously that
the first accused George Bush and second accused Blair have been found
guilty of crimes against peace,” the tribunal said in a statement.
“Unlawful use of force threatens the world to return to a state of
lawlessness. The acts of the accused were unlawful.”
Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power, unveiled
plans for the tribunal in 2007 just before he condemned Bush and Blair
as “child killers” and “war criminals” at the launch of an annual
anti-war conference. A seven-member panel chaired by former Malaysian
Federal Court judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman presided over the trial, which
began last Saturday, and both Bush and Blair were tried in absentia. AFP |