Community | September 05, 2009 | 7 comments

Barack Obama continues rendition

source: http://www.voltairenet.org/article161830.html

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Ihatethemall
The Obama administration will continue the Bush administration’s policy of "extraordinary rendition" - sending terrorism suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation - but has pledged to closely monitor the program to ensure those held are not tortured, reports say.

The decision will allow the US to continue the transfer of prisoners for interrogation to countries with a history of torture. The Obama administration was condemned yesterday by human rights groups who said promises from other countries of humane treatment was no protection against abuse. As a presidential candidate, US President Barack Obama had strongly suggested he might end the practice.

The New York Times yesterday cited an article in Foreign Affairs in the northern summer of 2007, in which Mr Obama wrote: "To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people.

"This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law."

In January, the President ordered secret prisons run by the CIA to be shut down.

Announcing that rendition would continue, a taskforce set up by Mr Obama has proposed a more vigorous monitoring of the treatment of prisoners sent to other countries.

But Amrit Singh, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, who tracked rendition cases under president George W. Bush, told the paper the usual method of monitoring - visits from American or allied consular officials - had been ineffective.

Ms Singh cited the case of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian sent in 2002 by the US to Syria, where he was beaten with electrical cable despite assurances against torture, the report said.
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7 comments // Barack Obama continues rendition

  • macfan
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • Where are the defenders to tell us this is due to intolerant ignorant Republicans who don't understand how America is viewed by the rest of the world?

    • 2 years ago
  • jh64487
    • 0
      jh64487  

    • now this is an issue worth getting pissed off about.

      he's going to send them to nations that allow torture...and also send people to make sure they aren't being tortured?

      riiiiiiiight.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ihatethemall
  • samthesixth
  • RojoGatto
  • Ihatethemall
    • 0
      Ihatethemall  

    • In the article:

      The New York Times yesterday cited an article in Foreign Affairs in the northern summer of 2007, in which Mr Obama wrote: "To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people.

      "This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law."

      Guess he changed his mind.

    • 2 years ago
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