WikiLeaks: US Pressured Germany on “Mistaken Identity” Torture Victim

One of the more interesting revelations from the leaked US State Department documents on WikiLeaks is how the Bush administration pressured Germany not to pursue the prosecution of CIA operatives who mistakenly kidnapped and then tortured a German citizen – Khalid al=Masri.  The dispatch in question can be read in its entirety here. Note the magnanimous nod to the "independence" of Germany's judicial system:

The DCM pointed out that our intention was not to threaten Germany, but rather to urge that the German Government weigh carefully at every step of the way the implications for relations with the U.S.  We of course recognized the independence of the German judiciary, but noted that a decision to issue international arrest warrants or extradition requests would require the concurrence of the German Federal Government, specifically the MFA and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).  The DCM said our initial indications had been that the German federal authorities would not allow the warrants to be issued, but that subsequent contacts led us to believe this was not the case.

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