Report: Spain investigating Gonzales, Yoo

MADRID, March 28 (UPI) -- A Spanish court has begun a process that could lead to a probe into whether U.S. officials broke international law on torture of prisoners, an official said.

Citing an official close to the case, The New York Times reported Saturday that the Spanish judge who ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has forwarded the case to a prosecutor's office. The official told the newspaper it is "highly probable" the investigation of six former officials of the George W. Bush administration -- including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- could lead to arrest warrants.

The investigation is intended to determine whether Gonzales and others violated international law by developing a legalistic rationale for the use of torture against prisoners at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The prosecutor was instructed to investigate whether former Justice Department attorney John Yoo, who provided legal opinions that Bush could legally disregard Geneva Conventions, violated international law.

Some U.S. legal analysts said warrants issued in Spain might have little practical effect and would almost certainly not result in arrests as long as those named in warrants remain in the United States, the Times reported.

Spain has a claim to jurisdiction in the matter because five Spanish citizens or residents have claimed they were tortured while held at Guantanamo.