'Torture-tainted evidence' mars US legal image: rights group

[G_j]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ilxw3zmT4wQaGyrHexYLTvFwFnxg

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The use of torture to extract evidence from detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has tarnished the US legal system's image and alienated allies in the war on terror, a rights group said Monday.

"The use of evidence tainted by torture and other inhuman treatment is pervasive and systematic in the cases of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and has already infected legal judgments made there," Human Rights First said in a report titled "Tortured Justice."

By hearing testimony extracted under torture when trying Guantanamo detainees, the United States is "tainting the legitimacy of the proceedings, both at home and in the eyes of the international community; alienating US allies and empowering terrorists," it said.

A Pentagon spokesman defended the legal process set up to try "war on terror" detainees.
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[PSPS]

1. Gee, ya think???