BTL:Amnesty International Calls for Special Counsel to Investigate Charges of~

...Torture in U.S.-Run Military Prisons~Interview with Samer Rabadi, of Amnesty International conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris

Amnesty International Calls for Special Counsel to Investigate Charges of Torture in U.S.-Run Military Prisons

Interview with Samer Rabadi, of Amnesty International conducted by Scott Harris

After years of legal challenges to the Bush administration's policy of holding individuals it declared "enemy combatants" indefinitely without due process, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued two rulings in related cases. The court affirmed the legal rights of both U.S. and foreign citizens to challenge their detention before a judge or other neutral decision-maker. The decision rejected arguments made by the White House that the president should retain unchecked power to hold prisoners without charge and without access to the courts. The cases were filed on behalf of a U.S. citizen and 16 foreign-born men seized in Afghanistan during the U.S invasion there in 2001 and 2002.

In another area, Amnesty International has called for the immediate appointment of a special counsel to investigate claims that detainees held in U.S prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and other secret facilities have been subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. The human rights group says that current probes of the abuse are compromised due to the possible complicity of high government officials in authorizing torture techniques. Documents leaked in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib prison scandal provide evidence that Bush administration officials wrote legal opinions asserting that the president was not restricted by U.S. and international law prohibiting torture.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Samer Rabadi, deputy director of Amnesty International's Western Regional Office, who examines the recent Supreme Court decisions on the rights of detainees and explains why his group is calling for a special counsel to investigate torture allegations.

Contact Amnesty International USA at 1-800 AMNESTY or visit their website at www.amnesty.org

Related links:

"Democracy's Chance," by Nick Cohen, The Observer U.K., June 27, 2004

"The Court puts the White House in its Place," by Oona A. Hathaway, Newsday / Long Island, N.Y., June 29, 2004

"Supreme Court Deals Blow to War on Terror," Reuters, June 28, 2004

LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below:

http://www.btlonline.org
*
"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: httC://www.btlonline.org
*
"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be heard Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET; Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET and Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET (Wednesday's show airs at 7:30 a.m. ET during fundraising months of April and October).
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Weekly Summary" which features a RealAudio link to the week's program for Between The Lines, send an email to btlsummary-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Q&A" which features a RealAudio link and weekly transcript to one of the interviews featured on Between The Lines, send an email to btlqa-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
*
betweenthelines@snet.net
*
http://www.squeakywheel.net/
*
Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc.
(c)2004 Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.