The United Nation's special investigator on torture said Thursday that torture may now be worse in Iraq that it was during the regime of deposed leader Saddam Hussein. The Associated Press reports that Manfred Nowak, who was making a brief to the United Nations Human Rights Council about the treatment of detainees at the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, said the torture situation in Iraq was "totally out of hand."
"The situation is so bad many people say it is worse than it has been in the times of Saddam Hussein." Nowak added, "That means something, because the torture methods applied under Saddam Hussein were the worst you could imagine."
Some allegations of torture were undoubtedly credible, with government forces among the perpetrators, he said, citing "very serious allegations of torture within the official Iraqi detention centers. You have terrorist groups, you have the military, you have police, you have these militias. There are so many people who are actually abducted, seriously tortured and finally killed," Nowak told reporters at the UN's European headquarters.
A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights "cited worrying evidence of torture, unlawful detentions, growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in 'honor killings' of women." Mr. Nowak had not visited Iraq, saying it was too dangerous to collect evidence, but cited interviews with sources in Iraq, Jordan and other areas in the region.
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The Times of London reports that the Bush administration rejected the claim made by Nowak.
A State Department official in Washington, asked about Professor Nowak's comments, told The Times: "How anyone could compare state-sanctioned torture under a dictator to the situation today is beyond us.
"We definitely don't agree with his remarks. We don't agree with his assessment of the situation at all."
The Guardian reports that Nowak is one of five UN human rights investigators who in February called for the closure of the United States detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, saying it was a "torture camp." That call was also rejected by the Bush administration.
The Gulf Times reports that Nowak also cited reports of inhumane treatment in US and foreign-run detention centers during his press conference in Geneva, but noted that conditions had improved since the "international furor over mistreatment of prisoners by US forces at the Abu Ghraib prison." Abu Ghraib was handed over to Iraqi control three weeks ago.
But the United Nations news agency reports that Nowak, and the four other UN human rights experts who work with him, rejected denials by the US that people were tortured at Guantánamo in the past.
The interrogation methods of prisoners authorized by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld constituted torture and the US administration was wrong to say there were no cases of torture committed at Guantánamo, [Nowak] told reporters.
Asked about US allegations over the [Iraq torture] report's credibility since it was based on second-hand information, Mr. Nowak said this was not the case and the information gathered was based on first-hand information. Though they did not visit the centre, the rapporteurs interviewed former detainees, lawyers acting on behalf of detainees and US Government officials as well as consulting public records.
Meanwhile, in the US, only a week after saying that scrapping his proposal on reinterpreting key provisions of the Geneva Conventions would force the CIA to stop a program that questioned detainees using methods that President Bush called "tough but professional" but others had called torture, Mr. Bush appears to have backed down. The Baltimore Sun reports that on Thursday Bush dropped a key element of his plan to continue the "harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects" in the face of continued opposition by several key members of his own party.
The deal between the White House and dissident Republicans led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona clears the way for election-year votes as early as next week on Bush's measure setting up military commissions to try detainees. It was the second time in less than a year that the president was forced to surrender to McCain – a former prisoner of war who was tortured by the North Vietnamese – in a fight over the treatment of those captured by the United States since Sept. 11, 2001.
Bush's showdown with members of his party ended with his agreement to scrap a proposal that would have essentially narrowed US adherence to international anti-torture standards contained in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
After announcing the agreement, the president also reversed course on his comments from last week about the CIA having to stop its program of interrogation of detainees at secret prisons if he didn't get his way. He said the program would now continue after all.
The Los Angeles Times reports that sources close to the negotiation say the agreement bans the most controversial interrogation techniques that were being used by the CIA, including water boarding, a form of simulated drowning.
The legislation gives the President the legal protections he said were needed to continue the program – CIA officers had reportedly stopped interrogating prisoners until their legal liabilities were better detailed – and allows him "the latitude to employ interrogation tactics which go beyond legal limits set for the US military."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the legislation would permit aggressive interrogation techniques that will "get us good information" but would "put boundaries around conduct that would not represent American values."
The compromise sets the stage for expected Senate approval next week of legislation authorizing military tribunals to try the suspects at Guantánamo Bay. The House also is expected to take up the bill. The interrogation provisions are part of the military tribunal measure.
But several major newspapers wrote editorials Friday that questioned if the new agreement really had made any difference in the way detainees would be interrogated. In an editorial entitled "The abuse will continue," the Washington Post writes that the group of GOP senators didn't authorize torture, but they didn't prevent it either.
The bad news is that Mr. Bush, as he made clear yesterday, intends to continue using the CIA to secretly detain and abuse certain terrorist suspects. He will do so by issuing his own interpretation of the Geneva Conventions in an executive order and by relying on questionable Justice Department opinions that authorize such practices as exposing prisoners to hypothermia and prolonged sleep deprivation. Under the compromise agreed to yesterday, Congress would recognize his authority to take these steps and prevent prisoners from appealing them to US courts. The bill would also immunize CIA personnel from prosecution for all but the most serious abuses and protect those who in the past violated US law against war crimes.
In short, it's hard to credit the statement by [McCain] yesterday that "there's no doubt that the integrity and letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions have been preserved." In effect, the agreement means that US violations of international human rights law can continue as long as Mr. Bush is president, with Congress's tacit assent. If they do, America's standing in the world will continue to suffer, as will the fight against terrorism.
And the Boston Globe reports that the agreement may also be challenged by Republican Sen. Arlen Spectre of Pennsylvania, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, who believes that detainees should have the right to challenge their detainment in federal courts. The agreement "strips defendants at the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility of those 'habeas corpus' rights."
The Globe says Democrats are unlikely to challenge the agreement, as "most Democrats have taken their cues from McCain."
- Red Cross delegation will visit detainees at Guantánamo (McClatchy)
- Iraq says insurgents are using unwitting kidnap victims as drivers in suicide bombings. (The Associated Press)
- Bush threatened to bomb Pakistan, says Musharraf (Guardian)
- Bush ready to OK border barrier (Washington Times)
- Palestinian unity crumbles (The Associated Press)
- Pope makes mockery of engaging Muslims (Toronto Star)
Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.
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