A high court judge yesterday delivered a stinging attack on America, saying its idea of what constituted torture was out of step with that of “most civilised nations”.
The criticism, directed at the Bush administration’s approach to human rights, was made by Mr Justice Collins during a hearing over the refusal by ministers to request the release of three British residents held at Guantánamo Bay.
The judge said: “America’s idea of what is torture is not the same as ours and does not appear to coincide with that of most civilised nations.” He made his comments, he said, after learning of the UN report that said Guantánamo should be shut down without delay because torture was still being carried out there.
(Source: The Guardian)
More criticism for America’s gulag, this time from a high court judge. Yes. If you aren’t already familiar, British high court judges aren’t known for being raving Commies. This is stinging criticism from a pillar of the British establishment.
Of course, the Bush government will shrug it off, as it did the UN report:
Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, dismissed its findings as a “rehash of old allegations” and “a discredit to the organisation”. “The detainees are being treated humanely,” he said. “Remember these are terrorists.”
(Source: The Guardian)
Hold on, I’ve got to turn on the big type for this bit for any Tories / Republicans reading…
HELLO! WE HAVE A CONCEPT CALLED ‘INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.’ IT’S BEEN A PART OF WESTERN LAW FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW – HAVE YOU HEARD OF IT? IT REQUIRES CHARGES, EVIDENCE AND A TRIAL BY PEERS.
HAS ANYONE AT GUANTANAMO RECEIVED ANY OF THE ABOVE?
No? So when Mr. McClellan says, “Remember these are terrorists,” that isn’t true or in any way proven. That’s just him lying through his big, proto-fascist mouth.
And right there is why the judge is right: the US government is now conveniently ignoring basic tenets of international law when they get in the way of its rapacious imperial programme.
This may work for the Bushites in the short-term but what does it hold for the future? If the US can throw the Geneva Convention and anything else it feels like out of the window, what does this mean for its citizens should they ever be captured by unfriendly forces?
The current US administration is a danger not just to the people of Iraq (and Iran and any other oil-rich nation), it’s also endangering the future safety of its own citizens and eroding previously seriously regarded universal human rights.