UN Expert Urges Full US Torture Investigation

[Catherina]

UN Expert Urges Full US Torture Investigation
16 Nov 2010 17:02:04 GMT
Source: Reuters

by Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA - The new U.N. torture expert urged the United States on Tuesday to conduct a full investigation into torture under the Bush administration and prosecute offenders as well as senior officials who ordered it.

Juan Ernesto Mendez told Reuters he also hoped to visit Iraq to probe a "very widespread practice of torture" of detainees with the help of coalition forces, revealed in confidential U.S. files issued by Wikileaks.

He will also try to visit the U.S. detention centre at Guantanamo -- on condition that he is granted private interviews with prisoners still being held by the Obama administration, he said in his first interview with an international media organisation since taking up the independent post two weeks ago.

"The United States has a duty to investigate every act of torture. Unfortunately, we haven't seen much in the way of accountability," said Mendez, himself a former torture victim, in the wide-ranging interview at the United Nations in Geneva.

"There has to be a more serious inquiry into what happened and by whose orders... It doesn't need to be seen to be partisan or vindictive, just an obligation to follow where the evidence leads," added Mendez, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture.

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6AF1DR.htm

[EFerrari]

1. K&R

[AtomicKitten]

2. K&R!!!!!!

[leftstreet]

3. K&R

[Peace Patriot]

4. K&R!!!!!!!! nt

[disillusioned73]

5. Another name added to the..

United States Torture Syndicate ignore list - rec, nothing will ever come of this.... dissillusioned?? Yup..

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Just say NO to Republicon torture. The k and the r." - JC

[Capitalocracy]

7. At this point, the only investigation we need is to figure out...

exactly who needs to join Bush and Cheney in prison and for how long. To start convicting people from Bush on down, we basically have full confessions.

How can we possibly talk about "looking forward" when an investigation isn't even necessary? Waterboarding is torture. Fact, with established legal precedence. Torture is illegal. Fact. Bush ordered waterboarding and admits to it. Fact. Investigation? Formality. Looking forward instead of looking back? Ignoring the rule of law to the point that it may even be considered a crime on its own. Is it considered a crime not to pursue such an obvious case? Don't these people take an oath to uphold the law?

[Pamelita]

8. K&R. UN rapporteur is a torture victim himself

We need to hold them accountable.