Spain's AG to urge Gitmo probe be dropped

MADRID, April 16 (UPI) -- Spain's attorney general said he'll seek dismissal of an investigation of Bush administration officials for alleged torture of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners.

Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido said Thursday the claim against officials in former President George W. Bush's administration is fraudulent, CNN reported.

The matter was presented by a human rights group and provisionally accepted by a Spanish court pending the prosecutor's opinion.

If a claim were to be investigated, it should be pursued by the United States so the former officials would have the opportunity to defend themselves in the U.S. court system, Conde-Pumpido said through his press secretary.

Once prosecutors inform the investigating judge of their decision, the judge will have to decide whether to proceed with the case, officials said.