NewsTrust - Torture - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Ron Paul says torture is banned under U.S., international law

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Nov. 15 (Fact Check) - During the CBS-National Journal Republican presidential debate in Spartanburg, S.C. , on Nov. 12, 2011, one of the moderators, Major Garrett, invited Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, into a discussion of torture. Both Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Go

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Checking Ron Paul and Barack Obama on torture

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Nov. 15 (Fact Check) - On Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, in South Carolina at the Republican candidates' debate, the subject was foreign policy. When the subject of waterboarding detainees came up, both Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Godfather's Pizza executive Herman Cain said they favored allowing interrogators to use the practice of simulating drowning to elicit information from a detainee. Waterboarding was permitted under the George W. Bush administration, but the policy was rescinded soon after President Barack Obama took office. Then moderator Major Garrett asked Paul for his opinion. Paul responded that "torture is illegal by our laws. It's illegal by international laws." ... >>More

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Freed U.S. Hiker Shane Bauer

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 26 (News Report) - "In prison, every time we complained about our conditions, the guards would immediately remind us of comparable conditions at Guantánamo Bay. They would remind of us of CIA prisons in other parts of the world and the conditions that Iranians and others experience in prisons in the U.S.," says Shane Bauer. "We do not believe that such human rights violations on the part of our government justify what has been done to us. Not for a moment. However, we do believe that these actions on the part of the U.S. provide an excuse for other governments, including the government of Iran, to act in kind."

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Genocide-Linked General Otto Pérez Molina Poised to Become Guatemala's Next President

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Sep. 15 (News Analysis) - Human rights groups have accused Pérez of being directly involved in the systematic use of torture and acts of genocide in Guatemala in the 1980s. Pérez has run largely on a platform of using "an iron fist" to crack down on drug cartels. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Mayan activist, Rigoberta Menchú, is one of nine other candidates challenging Pérez.

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U.S. Navy Vet Sues Donald Rumsfeld for Torture in Iraq, Court Allows Case to Move Forward

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Donald Vance, Andrea Prasow - Aug. 11 (News Report) - On Monday, a federal appeals court refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two U.S. citizens against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and unnamed others for developing, authorizing and using harsh interrogation techniques against detainees in Iraq. Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were working for a private U.S. government contractor, Shield Group Security, in 2006 when they witnessed the sale of U.S. government weapons to Iraqi rebel groups for money and alcohol. After they became FBI informants and collaborated with an investigation into their employer, the company revoked their credentials for entering Iraq’s so-called Green Zone, effectively barring them from the safest part of the country. Shortly afterward, they were arrested and detained by U.S. troops, moved to the U.S.-run prison at Camp Cropper, and subjected to extreme sleep deprivation, interrogated for hours at a time, kept in a very cold cell, and denied food and water for long periods.

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How the U.S. Government uses its media servants to attack real journalism

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Jul. 17 (News Analysis) - Earlier this week, the truly intrepid investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill published in The Nation one of the most significant political exposés of the year. Entitled "the CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia," the article documented that the CIA uses and effectively controls a secret prison in Mogadishu, where foreign nationals who are rendered off the streets of their countries (at the direction of the U.S.) are taken (along with Somali nationals) to be imprisoned with no due process and interrogated (by U.S. agents). Although Somali government agents technically operate the facility, that is an obvious ruse: "US intelligence personnel pay the salaries of intelligence agents and also directly interrogate prisoners" and are "there full-time," Scahill reported.

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The CIA’s Secret Prison in Somalia

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Harper's - By Scott Horton - Jul. 17 (News Analysis) - The Obama Administration’s recent decision to charge a Somali militant named Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame with crimes in a federal court in Manhattan has focused a good deal of attention on American intelligence operations in the Horn of Africa. Somalia is still viewed as the quintessential failed state, and it has been cited by American analysts as a breeding ground for Islamist militants. The U.S. government has made no secret of the special attention it devotes to the country, but it has been remarkably short on details about what that attention entails. Much of this knowledge gap has now been filled in by a remarkable piece of reporting from The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill. . . .

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A Debate on Human Rights Watch's Call For Bush Administration Officials Be Tried For Torture

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 12 (News Report) - Human Rights Watch has released a new report calling on the U.S. government to launch a broad criminal investigation into alleged crimes of torture committed by former President George W. Bush and other top officials under his administration. It comes on the heels of a Department of Justice investigation into alleged torture, abuse and murder during the interrogation of detainees in CIA custody. Earlier this month, the DOJ announced it would launch a full criminal investigation into the deaths of just two prisoners out of 101 cases under review, including one who died at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. We speak to Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, and to John Baker, professor emeritus at Louisiana State University Law School.

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Syrian Troops Pursue “Scorched Earth” Policy; Videos Document Children Tortured to Death

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman; Razan Zaitouneh - Jun. 13 (News Report) - The Syrian army has taken control of the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour following what state media has described as heavy fighting by "armed groups," who residents say are mutinous soldiers defending the town. Our guest Neil Sammonds, Syria researcher for Amnesty International, is interviewing refugees who have fled the violence by crossing into Turkey. They tell him Syrian military forces have destroyed houses, burned crops, slaughtered livestock and contaminated water supplies. We speak with Razan Zaitouneh, a lawyer and human rights activist based in Damascus. She has documented that children are among those killed by snipers, or kidnapped by security forces, tortured and killed.

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Bin Laden Hit Leaves Hangover

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

populist.com - By R.J. Eskow - May. 25 (News Analysis) - Rep. King asks: Wouldn’t we have tortured Mohammad Atta on Sept. 10 to save 3,000 lives? That’s a foolish question, as interrogation experts already know. Atta would only have needed to confuse and delay us for 24 hours. Experts say that the quickest way to get information from a terrorist is by winning his sympathy. But sympathy doesn’t provide the emotional satisfaction, or the electoral opportunities, soulless politicians like Peter King crave.

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Waterboarding 'Worked'?: Media push pro-torture message

Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FAIR - May. 04 (Investigative Report) - To hear some tell it, the intelligence clues that ultimately led to Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan were generated by the use of torture. But the evidence available so far does not bear this out.

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Afghanistan Secret Prisons Confirmed By U.S.

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Apr. 08 (News Report) - "Black sites," the secret network of jails that grew up after the Sept. 11 attacks, are gone. But suspected terrorists are still being held under hazy circumstances with uncertain rights in secret, military-run jails across Afghanistan, where they can be interrogated for weeks without charge, according to U.S. officials who revealed details of the top-secret network to The Associated Press. The Pentagon has previously denied operating secret jails in Afghanistan, although human rights groups and former detainees have described the facilities.

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New York Court to Hear Case Against Psychologist Accused of Torture in Guantánamo Interrogations

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 06 (News Report) - The Obama administration has announced that key suspects in the 9/11 attacks will be tried by military commissions at the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay -- not in U.S. civilian court. There will, however, be one Guantánamo case tried in New York. Today the New York State Supreme Court will hear the case against Dr. John Leso, a psychologist accused of participating in torture during interrogation of detainees in Guantánamo. The case was brought on behalf of Dr. Steven Reisner, who is at the center of a growing group of medical professionals campaigning against the participation of psychologists in the U.S. government’s interrogation programs. [includes rush transcript]

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PJ Crowley: 'No Regrets Over Statement on Bradley Manning'

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Dominic Rushe - Mar. 28 (News Report) - 'The former US state department spokesman who resigned over the treatment of Bradley Manning has said he has no regrets about his comments criticising the manner of the soldier's detention, saying it has undermined the investigation into his role as the alleged source for WikiLeaks.'

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Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks' Alleged Leaker, 'Very Annoyed' At Solitary Confinement

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Marcus Baram - Dec. 15 (News Report) - Detained U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning's supporters went public with their concerns about the harsh conditions of his imprisonment — he has no access to exercise or even a pillow and bedsheets during his solitary confinement — only after their complaints to the military over several months went unheeded. As Salon's Glenn Greenwald reported on Wednesday, Manning, who has been accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of any crime but has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico "under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture."

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Controversial Drug Given to All Guantanamo Detainees Akin to "Pharmacologic Waterboarding"

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold, Jeffrey Kaye - Dec. 01 (Special Report) - The Defense Department forced all "war on terror" detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison to take a high dosage of a controversial antimalarial drug, mefloquine, an act that an Army public health physician called "pharmacologic waterboarding."

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Obama is president of extra-judicial killing, says ex-Guantánamo inmate

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Irish Times - Nov. 13 (News Report) - US PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s attempts to reach out to Muslims have been an “utter failure” given his broken promises on several issues including closing Guantánamo Bay detention facility, former inmate Moazzam Begg has said. Begg, a British national who spent two years in Guantánamo before being released in 2005, fears the detention centre may become permanent.

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US asked to begin criminal investigation following Bush publication

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

feeds.bignewsnetwork.com - Nov. 10 (News Report) - Amnesty International has urged a criminal investigation into the role of former US President George W Bush and other officials in the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret US custody.

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Special Prosecutor Declines to File Criminal Charges Over Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold - Nov. 09 (News Report) - Nearly three years after he was appointed to investigate the destruction of at least 92 interrogation videotapes, a dozen of which showed two high-value detainees being subjected to waterboarding and various other torture techniques by CIA interrogators, Special Prosecutor John Durham has determined that he does not have enough evidence to secure an indictment against anyone responsible for the purge. Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday that Durham, a US Attorney from Connecticut, has "concluded that he will not pursue criminal charges for the destruction of interrogation videotapes."

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Brazil Elects Dilma Rousseff, First Female President

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Michael Fox - Nov. 01 (News Report) - Brazil has reached a new milestone with the election of its first-ever female president. On Sunday, Dilma Rousseff defeated rival José Serra with 55 percent in a runoff vote. Rousseff was outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's chosen successor after serving the last five years as his chief of staff. During the 1960s and 1970s, she was involved in the armed struggle against Brazil's military dictatorship. She was imprisoned for nearly three years and tortured. Among her pledges, Rousseff vowed to eradicate chronic poverty in Brazil affecting 20 million people. We talk with Michael Fox, an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker based outside Porto Alegre. "She's a fighter," Fox says.

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WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange on Iraq War Logs, "Tabloid Journalism" and Why WikiLeaks is "Under Siege"

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 26 (Special Report) - In an extended interview, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange discusses the release of nearly 400,000 classified US military records on the war in Iraq, the biggest intelligence leak in US history. The disclosure provides a trove of new evidence on the number of civilian casualties, violence, torture, and suffering that has befallen Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. While the Obama administration is defending the US military's record in Iraq, the allegations in the documents have sparked worldwide condemnation. Assange also confirmed that threats by Pentagon would not stop WikiLeaks from releasing additional military documents related to the war in Afghanistan.

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WikiLeaks' Iraq War Logs: US Troops Abused Prisoners Years After Abu Ghraib

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Marcus Baram - Oct. 23 (News Report) - Despite a vigorous attempt by the Pentagon to stop WikiLeaks from releasing 400,000 pages of classified military documents about the Iraq War, the group has gone ahead with its latest document dump. Most shockingly, the documents allegedly show that US troops abused prisoners for years even after the Abu Ghraib scandal and that the US ignored systemic abuse, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers, according to several news reports.

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Wolfowitz Loosened Human Experimentation Rules As Part Of Detainee Research Program

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

pubrecord.org - By Jason Leopold, Jeffrey Kaye - Oct. 15 (Investigative Report) - This report, based on a seven-month investigation, was written by Jason Leopold and Jeffrey Kaye. It was originally published at Truthout. In 2002, as

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"New Order, Same Abuses": Amnesty Condemns Iraq for Holding 30,000 Prisoners Without Trial

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 20 (News Report) - Amnesty International is condemning Iraq for holding an estimated 30,000 prisoners without trial, including 10,000 prisoners who were recently transferred from US custody. In a new report, Amnesty documents that Iraqi prisoners are being arbitrarily detained and often beaten to obtain forced confessions. [includes rush transcript]

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Iraqi Refugee Describes Torture, Imprisonment of Husband Who Returned to Iraq to Free Jailed Son

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 20 (News Report) - Rabiha al Qassab, a British Iraqi woman who lives in London, describes the harrowing story of her husband, Ramze Shihab Ahmed. Having fled in 1998 after being accused of trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Ramze returned to Iraq last year to get his son out of prison. He, too, was arrested and was tortured. Like 30,000 other Iraqis, he and his son are being held without charge.

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