A group of American civil rights lawyers and four Iraqi citizens have filed a criminal complaint in Germany calling for an investigation into top U.S. officials over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.
The Center for Constitutional Rights filed the complaint Tuesday with the German Federal Prosecutor's office, under the doctrine of "universal jurisdiction" of alleged war criminals.
A statement from the group asks the German prosecutor to meet "obligations" under law to investigate allegations of torture and war crimes. The statement alleges the four Iraqis were subject to beatings and sexual abuse while in U.S. detention at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.
The complaint calls for an investigation into top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former CIA Director George Tenet and the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.
The attorneys say U.S. investigations into the abuse have not gone far enough.
Some information for this story provided by AP.
