Human Rights

Bush-era Interrogations: From Waterboarding to Forced Nudity

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MCCLATCHY– The long-awaited release Thursday of four Bush-era memos lays out in clinical detail many of the controversial interrogation methods secretly authorized by the Bush administration — from waterboarding to trapping prisoners in boxes with insects — while former President George W. Bush was publicly condemning the use of torture. The memos were made public by the Justice Department with … Read More

In Terror War, 2nd Track for Suspects

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WASHINGTON POST– The Bush administration is developing a parallel legal system in which terrorism suspects – U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike – may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system, lawyers inside and outside the government say. The elements of this new system are already familiar from President Bush’s orders and his … Read More

Court Says US Asked Detainee to Drop Torture Claim

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TRUTHOUT– US authorities asked a Guantanamo Bay detainee to drop allegations of torture and agree not to speak publicly about his ordeal in exchange for his freedom, according to British court documents. A ruling by two British High Court judges, issued in October but released only on Monday, said the U.S. offered former detainee Binyam Mohamed a plea bargain last … Read More

Despite Rhetoric, Obama Continues Bush Policy on Detainees

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RAW STORY– In a stunning departure from his rhetoric on Guantánamo Bay prison, President Barack Obama signaled Friday he will continue Bush Administration policy with regard to detainees held at a US airbase in Afghanistan, saying they have no right to challenge their detentions in US courts — and denying them legal status altogether. “This Court’s Order of January 22, … Read More

Obama Preserves Rendition as Counter-terrorism Tool

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LA TIMES– The CIA’s secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. And Guantanamo Bay will eventually go back to being a wind-swept naval base on the southeastern corner of Cuba. But even while dismantling these programs, President Obama left intact an equally controversial counter-terrorism tool. Under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority … Read More