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Saturday, January 26, 2002 1:29 PM
French general fined for army torture
book
Jon Henley in
ParisSaturday
January 26, 2002The
Guardian
Paul Aussaresses, the French
resistance hero and retired general who brought into full light the army's use
of torture and summary execution during the Algerian war of independence in a
book published last year, was fined 7,500 (£4,622) yesterday for condoning war
crimes.
Although he admitted personally torturing and killing 24 independence
fighters, the 83-year-old general was punished not for what he did during the
1954-62 war, but for what he wrote. All soldiers who served in Algeria were
amnestied in the 60s.
Although it had long been known that torture was common on both sides, his
book, Special Services: Algeria 1955-57, caused an uproar when it was published
last spring.
The League of Human Rights brought the case in the hope that it would be a
step towards official recognition of French army crimes in Algeria.
The book details tortures used against prisoners under his command, ranging
from blows to electric shocks and suffocation with water. He and his troops were
following instructions to eradicate terrorism and save French lives, he wrote in
one of the 19 passages highlighted by the prosecution.
"And the best way to make a terrorist talk when he refused to say what he
knew was to torture him."
The prosecutor argued that the general's writing style reflected a "cold
tone, lacking any hindsight and any humanity".
Gen Aussaresses said during the trial that he would "do it all again if
necessary", but the acts gave him "no pleasure".
He made no comment after the verdict, beyond saying that he would appeal, as
will his two publishers, who were convicted of the same crime and fined 15,000
(£9,240) each.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian
Newspapers Limited 2002
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