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New Report on Extraordinary Rendition

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 11:09:30 AM EST
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Human Rights Watch has released a new report on the Administration's use of extraordinary rendition - shipping suspects off to countries that are known to practice torture. It's focus is the failure of diplomatic assurances to prevent abuse.

“Governments that are using diplomatic assurances know full well that they don’t protect against torture,” said [HRW Executive Director Kenneth]Roth. “But in the age of terror, they’re convenient. Only pressure from the public in Europe and North America can stop this negative trend.”

Governments rely on a variety of devices to transfer suspects to other countries, including renditions, removals, deportations, extraditions and expulsions. But none of them is legally permissible if the person to be transferred is at risk of torture on return.

“If these suspects are criminals they should be prosecuted, and if they’re not, they should be released,” said Roth. “But shipping them off to countries where they’ll be tortured is not an acceptable solution.”

The 91 page report, Still at Risk: Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard, is available here (html).

Also read Nat Hentoff's new column in the Village Voice on rendition, but not right after you eat:

One of the CIA's jet planes used to render purported terrorists to other countries—where information is extracted by any means necessary—made 10 trips to Uzbekistan. In a segment of CBS's 60 Minutes on these CIA torture missions (March 5), former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray told of the range of advanced techniques used by Uzbek interrogators:

"drowning and suffocation, rape was used . . . and also immersion of limbs in boiling liquid."

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    • New Report on Extraordinary Rendition | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 12:06:34 PM EST
    I think we should rename ER to Terror Suspects Final Solution.

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#2)
    by theologicus on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 01:45:01 PM EST
    I'm afraid Ed is right. What we are looking at is neofascism. And we are seeing little outcry. Are we going to be "good Germans" all over again?

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#3)
    by john horse on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 03:11:24 PM EST
    According to Hentoff's article, the Bush administration says that it "does not engage in or condone torture", yet in practice it does condone torture because it sends prisoners to places where they know torture is practiced. Indeed the Karimov regime (which practices boiling people alive) in Uzbekistan is so confident of Bush's support that they have expanded torture from Al Queda suspects to also include internal dissidents.

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#4)
    by john horse on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 05:02:42 PM EST
    Here is a quick pop quiz for those of you who didn't read Nat Hentoff's article. When British ambassador Craig Murray told the Foreign Office of photos that he received showing a Uzbek interrogation that ended with the prisoner actually being boiled to death, the British government reacted by: a) publically condemning the Uzbek government and ordering a suspension and review of the practice of Extraodinary Rendition; or b) dismissing Craign Murry as ambassador to Uzbekistan

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 16, 2005 at 06:13:53 PM EST
    Usbekistan - I always think of that as the setting for that movie "the man who would be king" ??

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 17, 2005 at 08:57:43 AM EST
    Again we see children at play. I didn't see it, so it didn't happen. I didn't do it, so I'm not responsible. When do we get out of this "Lord of the Flies" remake and become part of the real world, again. This administration is full of more corruption and BS since the Teapot Dome.

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 17, 2005 at 12:00:03 PM EST
    These renditions are treaty violations. High crimes and misdemeanors. But that's not going anywhere. The guys at the top are war criminals, but will likely never be held accountable. American citizens will pick up the tab for the next couple of decades as we are targeted by infuriated (and rightly so) world citizens. We have Human Rights and the Red Cross finding fault with us now, for God's sake. We have met the enemy and he is us as Pogo observed.

    Re: New Report on Extraordinary Rendition (none / 0) (#8)
    by john horse on Mon Apr 18, 2005 at 04:08:56 AM EST
    CA, I think you hit the nail on the head. This practice is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights and our other legal protections. Bush says that he is a compassionate conservative. Turning a prisoner over to a government that practices boiling people alive does not seem very compassionate.

    New Report on Extraordinary Rendition | 8 comments (8 topical)