More claims of US detainee torture:AMNESTY International

[cal04]

AMNESTY International released fresh claims today of the alleged torture and ill-treatment of terrorist suspects on the fourth anniversary of detainees being taken to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The testimonies from three men echo similar claims made by released prisoners and include allegations from one of the men that he was abducted by the US Criminal Intelligence Agency (CIA) as part of its "extraordinary rendition" policy.

Abdulsalam al-Hela, a 34-year-old businessman from Sanaa, Yemen, allegedly "disappeared" after travelling to Egypt for a meeting with a construction firm in September 2002. The father-of-two was shackled, blindfolded and gagged, put on a small, private plane and taken, possibly via Azerbaijan, to Afghanistan, where he was held "in secret, illegally and incommunicado" for two years, Amnesty said.

Amnesty said Mr al-Hela suffered psychological torture at five prisons in or around Kabul, a number of them underground, before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in September 2004. The human rights group, with headquarters in London, said he wrote in a letter smuggled out of jail in Afghanistan: "The CIA conspired with the Egyptian Mukhabarrat (intelligence service), making false allegations and threats against me, so as to justify their crime of kidnapping me."

A number of countries have expressed concerns about the policy of extraordinary rendition to countries outside the legal process and the alleged existence of secret prisons in eastern Europe to interrogate suspects. Washington has denied using or condoning torture but defended rendition as a "vital tool" in combating international terrorism. Amnesty called for increased pressure to be put on the US Government for the prisoners to be either released or given a fair trial and repeated its view that Guantanamo should be shut and an inquiry launched into the torture claims. "In Guantanamo, around 500 men have been treated with complete and utter disdain of the type that nobody should be forced to endure," it said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17790128%255E1702,00.html

[bluestateguy]

1. I know how the government can PROVE that they don't torture

Release all Abu Grahib photos and show the world that the United States does not torture.

[rodeodance]

2. yes, release the Pentagon held pictures!! what the hell is going on with

this issue anyway?

[bluestateguy]

3. It's tied up in appeals

Bring a meal. It'll be awhile.

[shanti]

4. i doubt we'll ever see them

something else will most likely happen that will make them 'disappear' in everyone's minds. there are a LOT of things happening now that the powers that be would like to disappear...

[bluestateguy]

5. We'll see them

Baby Bush and his babysitters may have long since ridden off into the sunset (or back to the think tanks, or jail), but they will come out.

It's just that by then it may too late to do anything about it, that's all.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Amnesty International Calls for Investigation Into Guantanamo Bay Prison

Amnesty International Calls for Investigation Into Guantanamo Bay Prison
By VOA News
11 January 2006

The human rights group, Amnesty International, says its members are petitioning the U.S. government, demanding an investigation into allegations of abuse at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The group Wednesday released new testimony from detainees alleging physical and psychological torture and mistreatment at the detention facility.

Amnesty International is also demanding trials for all detainees.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said the prisoners are being treated humanely, and that because they are enemy combatants and not prisoners-of-war, they are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention.

The prison at Guantanamo Bay has been the focus of controversy since it opened four years ago, due to allegations of abuse and the prolonged detention of suspects without charges.
(snip/...)

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-01-11-voa11.cfm

[cosmicone]

7. I wish more pressure builds n/t

[soothsayer]

8. What took 'em so long? Good for them, tho! Make noise!!

[EFerrari]

9. They actually have been at it since the place opened.

And they just keep at it. I really admire those folks.