[ad_1]
After his inauguration on January 20, Biden should not, in the name of uniting the country, prevent prosecutors from prosecuting Donald Trump for various crimes, HRW chief Kenneth Roth told AFP.
“Biden must allow professional prosecutors to go ahead and prosecute any crimes that have been committed,” Roth said after his organization published a nearly 400-page annual report on human rights abuses around the world.
The report came a week after an attack on Congress that shook the foundations of American democracy and sparked new efforts to topple Trump, accused of inciting crowds to invade the Capitol, where lawmakers at the time claimed victory for Biden. in the elections of November 3.
Congressional Democrats are making an unprecedented effort to convict Trump on a second indictment. Roth also called on the executive to ensure that Trump receives legal punishment for alleged crimes during the presidency.
In addition to Trump’s alleged role in the mob storming the Capitol, there is likely a long chain of other alleged crimes that prosecutors might want to investigate, the HRW chief said in an interview at his home in Geneva.
“Absolutely unacceptable”
“We have seen Trump want to trample democracy in various ways,” he said during his tenure.
“January 6 was the natural culmination of a trend that really lasted four years … America really needs to draw the line and say: such a low performance is absolutely unacceptable,” Roth said.
According to him, it is vital to show that the president “is not above the law.”
Roth asked Biden not to repeat former President Barack Obama’s “mistake of looking forward, not back” and mentioned Obama’s decision not to prosecute former President George W. Bush for his administration’s decision to legalize torture. in the “war on terror”. “.
Obama, on behalf of his legislative agenda, “spoke of the need to forget the outrage over Bush’s torture,” Roth said, acknowledging that “there is always reason to forget the past.”
However, especially in the case of the outgoing president, “it is a big mistake,” he warned, emphasizing that “Trump has in fact attacked the very idea that the president has the rule of law.”
“It is one of the pillars of democracy, and no vague language about reconciliation will stop that damage,” Roth said.
“We need to reaffirm the rule of law, and that means allowing professional prosecutors to study the evidence and pursue any crimes that Trump has committed.”
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday in favor of a historic second impeachment against President Trump, accused of inciting last week’s support for an invasion of the Capitol by his supporters.
In the House of Representatives, at least 232 legislators voted against the president’s accusation of accusing only incitement to rebellion, and 197 rejected it without five congressmen voting.
In the 435-seat House of Representatives, a simple majority of 217 votes was enough to pass the imputed articles.
Voters in the legislature were largely distributed by party line, but at least 10 members of his own Republican party supported the president’s impeachment.
However, the Senate is unlikely to confirm the charge of inciting rebellion and remove the president, whose term ends on January 20.
It is not allowed to publish, quote or reproduce the information of the BNS news agency in the media and on websites without the written consent of the UAB “BNS”.
[ad_2]
