5.27.2005
Amnesty International Takes Aim at United States in Annual Human Rights Report (CommonDreams.org)
"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time." --Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan
By Paisley Dodds
Associated Press
Published May 25, 2005
LONDON -- Amnesty International branded the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a human rights failure Wednesday, releasing a 308-page report that offers stinging criticism of the United States and its detention centers around the world.
"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time," Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said as the London-based group launched its annual report. Amnesty International called for the camp to be closed.
Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time.
Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan
The annual report accused the United States of shirking its responsibility to set the bar for human rights protections and said Washington has instead created a new lexicon for abuse and torture.
"Attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture through new policies and quasi-management speak, such as 'environmental manipulation, stress positions and sensory manipulation,' was one of the most damaging assaults on global values."
Some 540 prisoners from about 40 countries are currently being held at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 200 others have been released, though some are now jailed in their countries; many have been held for three years without charge.
The U.S. government says it continues to be a leader in human rights
(More ... Amnesty International Takes Aim at United States in Annual Human Rights Report) ¶ 08:13
By Paisley Dodds
Associated Press
Published May 25, 2005
LONDON -- Amnesty International branded the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a human rights failure Wednesday, releasing a 308-page report that offers stinging criticism of the United States and its detention centers around the world.
"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time," Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said as the London-based group launched its annual report. Amnesty International called for the camp to be closed.
Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time.
Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan
The annual report accused the United States of shirking its responsibility to set the bar for human rights protections and said Washington has instead created a new lexicon for abuse and torture.
"Attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture through new policies and quasi-management speak, such as 'environmental manipulation, stress positions and sensory manipulation,' was one of the most damaging assaults on global values."
Some 540 prisoners from about 40 countries are currently being held at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 200 others have been released, though some are now jailed in their countries; many have been held for three years without charge.
The U.S. government says it continues to be a leader in human rights
(More ... Amnesty International Takes Aim at United States in Annual Human Rights Report) ¶ 08:13
