BERLIN, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- German federal prosecutors on Thursday refused to take legal actions against US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over his role in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal.

    Any criminal investigations were a matter for judicial authorities in the United States as Rumsfeld was a US citizen, Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm said in the western German city of Karlsruhe.

    "There is no indication that a German is responsible for the alleged acts," Nehm said.

    In November, the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and four alleged abuse victims at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison filed a criminal complaint against Rumsfeld and other senior US officials.

    A German law in 2002 made it possible for German courts to launch prosecution outside Germany in cases involving war crimes or crimes against humanity.

    The abuse scandal shocked the world in April when photos of US soldiers abusing naked Iraqi detainees came to light. Enditem