www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

   

WORLD / America

US extends Geneva rights to detainees
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-12 09:23

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, bowing to court edict and political pressure, guaranteed the basic protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives in the war on terrorism and asked lawmakers Tuesday to restore the military tribunals now in limbo.

As senators took up the prickly question of how suspected terrorists should be treated and tried, the administration disclosed it had ordered a review of military detention practices to make sure they comply with Geneva standards.

The administration has refused to grant Geneva status to the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere, saying they were not from a recognized nation, were not captured in uniform and did not observe traditional rules of war.

Instead, the people apprehended in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other zones in the war on terrorism have been classified as "unlawful combatants." The Supreme Court last month invalidated the tribunals handling these cases, ruling they defied international law and had not been authorized by Congress.

The administration sought remedies on both fronts Tuesday, revisiting its prisoner guarantees and appealing to senators to revive the tribunals with legislation. Some critics have suggested the detainees should be tried by military courts-martial instead, an idea opposed by President Bush.

The Senate is unlikely to act until the fall, setting up a pitched debate over the issue at the height of the campaign for control of Congress.

A memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England to all branches of the armed forces, released Tuesday, instructed them to ensure that all Defense Department policies, practices and directives comply with Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions governing the humane treatment of prisoners.

The practical effect on interrogation techniques, detention conditions and trial procedures was unclear.

Officials at the White House and Pentagon did not say how, if at all, the treatment of terror detainees would be different under the Geneva Conventions. The government has long insisted that its treatment of these captives has been in compliance with the Geneva treaties all along, even though it has refused to apply them as a matter of law.

Steven Bradbury, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, told a Senate hearing that Article 3 is ambiguous and its use "will create a degree of uncertainty for those who fight to defend us from terrorist attack."

Even so, he said, the Supreme Court imposed a standard "that we must now interpret and implement."

Article 3 prohibits "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment," as well as torture and "cruel treatment." It requires sentences to be passed by a "regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples."

For all the new emphasis on Geneva protections, the memo did not expressly revoke Bush's directive in February 2002 that "common Article 3 of Geneva does not apply to either al-Qaida or Taliban detainees."

Instead, it noted that the Supreme Court has determined Article 3 "applies as a matter of law to the conflict with al-Qaida," and said existing standards and procedures, except for the military commissions, already should be in compliance the article.

Administration officials testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee asked for legislation to codify tribunal procedures so they can pass constitutional muster and still give the U.S. flexibility to deal with an unconventional foe.

"We would like to see Congress act quickly to establish a solid statutory basis for the military commission process, so that trials of captured al-Qaida terrorists can move forward again," Bradbury said. "The United States may continue to detain the terrorists we have captured. But as of right now, we cannot effectively punish those who have committed war crimes. That is unacceptable."

Senators were told that some 1,000 suspected terrorists are in U.S. detention around the world, including about 450 at Guantanamo. Prisoners from the Iraq war are already dealt with under the Geneva Conventions.

Administration officials cautioned against adopting a version of the military court-martial to try suspected terrorists, saying that system is in some ways more open and generous to defendants than even the civilian code. Interrogations could be deterred, for example, if terrorists were granted the court-martial right to avoid speaking until represented by counsel.

Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the committee chairman, opened the hearing by saying, "We're not going to give the Department of Defense a blank check."

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee's top Democrat, said "kangaroo court procedures" must be changed and any military commissions "should not be set up as a sham. They should be consistent with a high standard of American justice, worth protecting."

Guantanamo has been a flashpoint for both U.S. and international debate over the treatment of detainees without trial and over allegations of torture, denied by U.S. officials. Even U.S. allies have criticized the facility and process.

The camp came under worldwide condemnation after it opened more than four years ago, when pictures showed prisoners kneeling, shackled and being herded into wire cages. It intensified with reports of heavy-handed interrogations, hunger strikes and suicides.

Snow insisted that all U.S. detainees have been treated humanely. Still, he said, "We want to get it right."

Jumana Musa, advocacy director for Amnesty International USA, said the effect of the new policy on prisoner treatment is unclear, because questionable tactics have been employed despite existing requirements for humane treatment.

"This could change nothing except for the fact that it is an admission for the first time that any law applies to al-Qaida detainees," she said. "The issue here is really one of interpretation, and we've seen how they've interpreted torture."

The Financial Times reported the new memo before its release.

 
 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 99精品观看 | 亚洲精品久久久久综合中文字幕 | 亚洲高清成人欧美动作片 | 亚洲高清国产一线久久 | 成年女人免费看片 | 黑人一级大毛片 | 日韩欧美亚洲视频 | 成人永久福利在线观看不卡 | 成年女人免费视频播放成年m | 香港经典毛片a免费观看 | 亚洲欧美国产高清va在线播放 | 日韩特黄特色大片免费视频 | 国产国语一级毛片全部 | 成人看的一级毛片 | 18年大片免费在线观看 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区三区高清视频 | 美女张开腿黄网站免费 | 日韩久久久精品首页 | 国产成人女人在线视频观看 | 亚洲国产激情一区二区三区 | 男人的天堂在线 | 欧美一级特黄aa大片 | 一级色黄 | 日本一区不卡视频 | 黄色美女视频免费 | 视频在线二区 | 国内主播福利视频在线观看 | 亚洲精品国产成人 | 神马午夜在线 | 中国日本高清免费视频网 | 5级做人爱c视版免费视频 | 久久久国产99久久国产一 | 草草视频在线观看 | 亚洲国产精品久久久久久 | 久久免费精品一区二区 | 欧美69xx| 国产黄页| 亚洲国产成人在人网站天堂 | 女人毛片a毛片久久人人 | 国产精品三级 | 日韩精品综合 |