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I Committed No Crime, Says French General
PARIS, May 18 (News Agencies) - A retired French General, who has admitted to torturing and killing 24 people during Algeria's war of independence, said in a newspaper interview Friday that he had committed no crime.
A preliminary enquiry has begun in connection with a complaint filed by the Human Rights League against General Paul Aussaresses for "justification of war crimes," the prosecutor's office said.
A guilty verdict could lead to a maximum five-year jail sentence, plus a 300,000 franc ($40,000 /45,000 euro) fine under French law.
In a recent book titled "Special Services, Algeria 1955-1957," Aussaresses described how he and his "death squad" tortured and killed 24 Algerian prisoners with the full knowledge and backing of the French government, including the then-justice minister Francois Mitterrand, who later became president.
The Paris prosecutor's office launched a probe Thursday against the retired general.
In an interview published in Friday's Parisien/Aujourd'hui, Aussaresses voiced indignation at the possibility of being punished for his actions in Algeria, while admitting that he had "some regrets… and even remorse".
"I disagree with any punishment. It would be totally unjustified. In the same way I cannot accept losing the Legion of Honor [medal]. I have committed no crime," the former general argued.
"Regarding my military conduct at the time, I never received the slightest reproach from my superiors," he added.
According to Aussaresses, the use of torture and summary executions during the Algerian War was covered by a subsequent French amnesty. He spoke of the actions as "acts of defense".
His controversial book, remarkable for its detailed and unrepentant description of the tortures, has been widely condemned by French politicians and sparked calls for legal action.
The prosecutor's office said it had not yet begun investigations in connection with another action for crimes against humanity brought against Aussaresses by the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues.
A French rights group, the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP), has also brought a lawsuit against Aussaresses for crimes against humanity, applying to the courts to "investigate cases of torture, summary execution and assassination."
The statement Thursday by the prosecutor's office said the acts admitted to by Aussaresses were covered by the 1968 amnesty law.
Meanwhile, French military and government authorities have begun disciplinary proceedings against Aussaresses in his capacity as an ex-officer.
Principal among possible sanctions is enforced retirement, but since Aussaresses is long since retired, this would have only symbolic value. In practice, it would mainly mean that he would no longer enjoy the right to appear in uniform.
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