1 of 2

Write now Article Tools

Page 4 of 5

By holding detainees on foreign soil, redefining torture and terming prisoners enemy combatants' the US Administration circumvents international and domestic laws such as the Geneva Concention.

A Memo sent to Defence Secretary Rumsfeld late in 2002 contained legal advice from the General Counsel, William J. Haynes. It said, "The detainees currently held at Guantnamo bay are not protected by the Geneva Convention" and "Although no international body of law directly applies, the more notable international treaties and laws are listed below." The memo was sent in response to a request for more intensive interrogation techniques, the same Memo stated the following:

"The use of stress positions such as the proposed standing for four hours, the use of isolation for up to thirty days... are legally permissible... The deprivation of light and auditory stimuli, the placement of a hood over the detainee's head during transportation and questioning, and the use of 20 hour interrogations are legally permissible... The use of scenarios designed to convince the detainee that death or severely painful consequences are imminent is not illegal... Exposure to cold weather or water is permissible with appropriate medical monitoring... The use of a wet towel to induce the misperception of suffocation should also be permissible... Caution should be exercised with this method, as foreign courts have already advised about the potential harm this method may cause"

These techniques, especially the use of a wet towel, know as water boarding, have been branded by the Red Cross as tantamount to torture and are viewed as such by the European Council and the UN.

The system described above circumvents laws through definitions and loopholes; extraordinary rendition' is a blatant but highly classified violation. The CIA's highly secretive practice of extraordinary rendition involves the apprehension and transfer of a person from one state to another (often for the purpose of torture) without legal oversight. The practice is clearly in violation of article three of the UN Convention Against Torture and contradicts the Administrations denials. After September 11 the scheme, set up by President Clinton, was massively intensified for the interrogation of terrorist suspects.

In a January 2006 Memorandum the Council of Europe found that roughly 100 people in the EU had been kidnapped by the CIA and flown to countries and secret prisons (black-sites) where they could face torture. The report criticised

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Reflections: Getting the word out on the US use of torture?
We want to hear your view. Write now!