Released this afternoon, the so-called Feinstein report, after long-time US Senator Dianne Feinstein who chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that compiled the document, probes crimes of torture and enforced disappearance of terrorist suspects by the Bush-era CIA.
“It has taken four years since the report was finalised to reach this point,” said Ben Emmerson in a statement.
Now it is time to take action, he added. “The individuals responsible for the criminal conspiracy revealed in today’s report must be brought to justice, and must face criminal penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes,” he said.
Identities of the perpetrators, and many other details, have been redacted in the published summary report but are known to the Select Committee and to those who provided the Committee with information on the programme.
“The fact that the policies revealed in this report were authorized at a high level within the US Government provides no excuse whatsoever. Indeed, it reinforces the need for criminal accountability,” Mr. Emmerson explained.
International law prohibits the granting of immunities to public officials who have engaged in acts of torture. This applies not only to the actual perpetrators but also to those senior officials within the US Government who devised, planned and authorised these crimes.
The US is legally obliged, by international law, to bring those responsible to justice. The UN Convention Against Torture and the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances require States to prosecute acts of torture and enforced disappearance where there is sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.
“States are not free to maintain or permit impunity for these grave crimes,” Mr. Emmerson said.
- It is no defence for a public official to claim that they were acting on superior orders. CIA officers who physically committed acts of torture therefore bear individual criminal responsibility for their conduct, and cannot hide behind the authorisation they were given by their superiors.
- However, the heaviest penalties should be reserved for those most seriously implicated in the planning and purported authorisation of these crimes. Former Bush Administration officials who have admitted their involvement in the programme should also face criminal prosecution.
Torture is a crime of universal jurisdiction. The perpetrators may be prosecuted by any other country they may travel to. However, the primary responsibility for bringing them to justice rests with the US Department of Justice and the Attorney General.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
[un.org]
9/10/14
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Poland threatened to halt the transfer of al-Qaida suspects to a secret CIA jail on its soil 11 years ago, but became more “flexible” after the Central Intelligence Agency handed over a large sum of money, according to a U.S. Senate report....
ReplyDeleteU.S. President Barack Obama discussed the report’s forthcoming publication during a telephone call on Monday with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, administration officials and the Polish government said.
The heavily redacted report does not mention Poland. But it is clear it refers to the country because details including the names of three detainees and the dates they were transferred match other documents, including a European Court of Human Rights ruling relating to a CIA-run “black site” in Poland........Reuters............http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/10/world/cia-eased-polands-qualms-over-secret-prisons-with-boxes-of-bank-notes-senate-report/#.VIgAX8kYE9Q
10/12/14
US Embassies in Thailand, Pakistan, Afghanistan Warn of Possible Violence ...
ReplyDeleteUS foreign missions in Pakistan, Thailand and Afghanistan have issued security warnings to US citizens traveling to the countries, following the publication of a Senate report on controversial interrogation techniques used by the country's Central intelligence Agency (CIA).
"U.S. Citizens in Pakistan should be aware that the release of declassified versions of the executive summary, findings, and conclusions of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's study on the CIA's Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program could prompt anti-U.S. protests and violence against U.S. interests, including private U.S. citizens," the notice published Tuesday on the website of the US Embassy in Pakistan said.
The exact same warning was also issued by the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand as well as by the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) for US travelers to Afghanistan......................http://sputniknews.com/us/20141210/1015683985.html
10/12/14
Advocacy group calls for prosecuting those involved in CIA tortures...
ReplyDeleteThe Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Baher Azmy said individuals responsible for the CIA torture program should be brought to justice.
Those responsible for torturing detainees under the CIA detention and interrogation program should be prosecuted, either in the United States or in international courts, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) Legal Director Baher Azmy has said in a statement.
"We renew our demand for accountability for those individuals responsible for the CIA torture program," Azmy said. "They should be prosecuted in US courts; and if our government continues to refuse to hold them accountable, they must be pursued internationally under the principles of universal jurisdiction."..................Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/2014_12_10/281097459/
10/12/14
Le premier ministre britannique David Cameron a condamné l'utilisation des tortures par les services secrets américains. Dans une déclaration consacrée au rapport du Congrès des Etats-Unis il a évoqué le risque de perdre « l'autorité morale » en utilisant des techniques d'interrogatoire interdites....
ReplyDelete« Nous ne pourrons pas remporter la victoire dans la lutte contre le terrorisme et l'extrémisme international, si nous renonçons à nos valeurs morales », a déclaré le premier ministre.........Lire la suite: http://french.ruvr.ru/news/2014_12_10/Cameron-met-en-garde-les-USA-contre-le-risque-de-perdre-lautorite-morale-4907/
10/12/14
Le Pen: ci sono casi in cui la tortura è giustificata ...
ReplyDeleteL'uso della tortura può essere opportuno in alcuni casi, ad esempio per evitare un attacco terroristico mortale o per la necessità di "far parlare" qualcuno.
È quanto dichiara l’eurodeputato e leader del "Fronte Nazionale" francese Marine Le Pen commentando il rapporto pubblicato su una serie di abusi della CIA, tra i quali anche l'uso della tortura, Le Pen ha detto che non condanna l'uso della tortura e può immaginare una situazione in cui possa essere stata utilizzata.
Per saperne di più: http://italian.ruvr.ru/news/2014_12_10/Le-Pen-ci-sono-casi-in-cui-la-tortura-e-giustificata-0184/
10/12/14