1.11.2007
Civil Liberties Group Accuses CIA of Prison Abuse Cover-up (ABC.net.au)
Last Update: Thursday, January 11, 2007. 4:05pm (AEDT)
A CIA refusal to release two secret documents on its prisons and their interrogation methods points to a cover-up of unlawful abuse, a leading US civil rights group has said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which with four other organisations has an ongoing lawsuit against the CIA, says the CIA had filed a declaration arguing they should not be forced to release two US Justice Department memos because of national security.
The ACLU says two memos discuss a presidential order concerning the CIA's authorisation to set up detention facilities outside the US and permissible interrogation methods.
"The CIA's declaration uses national security as a pretext for withholding evidence that high-level government officials in all likelihood authorised abusive techniques that amount to torture," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said.
"This declaration is especially disturbing because it suggests that unlawful interrogation techniques cleared by the Justice Department for use by the CIA still remain in effect.
"The American public has a right to know how the Government is treating its prisoners."
(More ... ABC News)
A CIA refusal to release two secret documents on its prisons and their interrogation methods points to a cover-up of unlawful abuse, a leading US civil rights group has said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which with four other organisations has an ongoing lawsuit against the CIA, says the CIA had filed a declaration arguing they should not be forced to release two US Justice Department memos because of national security.
The ACLU says two memos discuss a presidential order concerning the CIA's authorisation to set up detention facilities outside the US and permissible interrogation methods.
"The CIA's declaration uses national security as a pretext for withholding evidence that high-level government officials in all likelihood authorised abusive techniques that amount to torture," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said.
"This declaration is especially disturbing because it suggests that unlawful interrogation techniques cleared by the Justice Department for use by the CIA still remain in effect.
"The American public has a right to know how the Government is treating its prisoners."
(More ... ABC News)
Labels: ABC (Aus), CIA, Civil Liberties, Extraordinary Rendition
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