Spanish Court To Investigate Bush's 'Torture Team'

Fresh Air

Published April 29, 2009 at 11:13 AM EDT

In his book <em>Torture Team,</em> Philippe Sands alleges that the use of harsh interrogation tactics against detainees constitutes a "betrayal of American values." — In his book *Torture Team,* Philippe Sands alleges that the use of harsh interrogation tactics against detainees constitutes a "betrayal of American values."

In his book, Torture Team, British attorney Philippe Sands makes a case that high-ranking members of the Bush administration were responsible for instituting harsh interrogation tactics against detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Sands' book played a role in the Spanish court's recent decision to investigate the role six Bush Administration officials played in creating the legal framework for harsh tactics. The officials under investigation are: former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; David Addington, chief of staff and the principal legal adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney; John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer; Douglas Feith, former Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy; and lawyers Jim Haynes and Jay Bybee.

Sands is an international lawyer at the firm Matrix Chambers, and a professor and director of the Centre of International Courts and Tribunals at University College London.