-Caveat Lector- Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002
Amnesty Blasts Guantanamo Prison LONDON (AP) - U.S. authorities should charge and try Taliban and al-Qaida suspects held at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba or release them, the human rights group Amnesty International said Thursday. In a new report, the London-based group said the prisoners, incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay base for several months since being captured in Afghanistan, are in "legal limbo," a serious breach of their human rights. It said the prisoners, who include seven British nationals, are routinely denied the right to see lawyers, although they could face trial by special U.S. military courts with the power to pass death sentences. The suspects reportedly include members of Afghanistan's former hardline Taliban regime and the al-Qaida terror network believed responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Bush administration declines to categorize them as prisoners of war with attending rights, saying they're legitimate combatants as defined under international treaty and can be held until war's end. Amnesty International said the British government should urge the United States to release all the Guantanamo prisoners "unless they are charged with a recognizably criminal offense and tried by an independent and impartial court in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness and exclude the possibility that the death penalty may be imposed." Amnesty International opposes capital punishment in all cases as a matter of principle. The report also accused criticized British anti-terrorism legislation, passed in the wake of Sept. 11. Amnesty said the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act, passed in November 2001, "effectively created a shadow criminal justice system devoid of a number of crucial components and safeguards" contained in the ordinary criminal justice system. Amnesty called for an immediate repeal of section 4 of the law, which empowers the government to detain foreign nationals indefinitely, without charge or trial, if they are suspected of threatening Britain's national security. Amnesty said those detained under the act suffer "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment," including incarceration in top-security prisons, where they suffer abuse and intimidation and are habitually denied access to lawyers and the right to appeal. Amnesty also said Britain breached the European Convention on Human Rights. When Britain adopted the convention, it specifically excluded a provision which says any arrested person must "be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law." A Home Office official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the government is confident that the government is complying with the European Convention on Human Rights. 2002-09-05 19:06:04 GMT Copyright 2002 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authorityof The Associated Press. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
