17/3/09; (2 Items)
The International Committee of the Red Cross produced a report in 2007 that found the CIA’s treatment of al-Qa’ida captives constituted torture. The secret report, compiled for official use, says the treatment of detainees at the secret prisons run by the US Central Intelligence Agency amounted to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”, which is outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. The report has been obtained by Mark Danner, a journalism professor and writer, who published long excerpts in the New York Review of Books’ April edition, released yesterday.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25196448-2703,00.html; http://www.theage.com.au/world/red-cross-report-on-detainees-indicated-torture-20090316-8zvr.html; http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/us-practised-torture-report-20090317-9042.html
Europe cautious over Guantanamo inmates
William Glaberson; 17/3/09
European countries that have offered to help the Obama Administration close America’s detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by resettling detainees have begun raising questions about the security risks and requirements if they accept prisoners described by the Bush Administration as “the worst of the worst”, according to diplomats and other officials on both sides of the Atlantic. The concerns — and a deep suspicion of whether the US intelligence community will share full information on the prisoners — are likely to complicate the resettlement effort, which is critical to President Barack Obama fulfilling his pledge to close Guantanamo within a year. The offers — from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and other countries — have been widely seen as efforts to win favour with the new Administration by helping to close the camp.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/world/europe-cautious-over-guantanamo-inmates-20090316-8zvp.html
Tags: Europe, Guantanamo Bay, Red Cross, Terrorism, Torture, USA