Latest Torture in the United States Stories
By Richard Waddington GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States has put on trial more than 100 armed forces' staff accused of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan and Iraq, twice the number asserted by rights groups, a U.S. official said on Monday. Defending U.S. policy before the United Nations' Committee against Torture, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Stimson said all allegations of mistreatment of detainees were investigated. Figures provided to the committee by U.S.-based group...
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States on Friday defended its treatment of foreign terrorism suspects held abroad, telling a U.N. committee it backed a ban on torture and there had been "relatively few actual cases of abuse." John Bellinger, legal adviser at the State Department, said the Bush administration was "absolutely committed to uphold its national and international obligations to eradicate torture." Lobby groups including Amnesty International and Human...
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal urged U.S. forces to "go to the outer limits" to extract information from prisoners, according to a U.S. officer cited in a military document. The Army last year exonerated Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez of wrongdoing relating to detainee abuse, but human rights lawyers said the document raises fresh questions about the degree to which senior officers sanctioned the abuse. "This is...
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations committee against torture has demanded that the United States provide more information about its treatment of prisoners at home and foreign terrorism suspects held in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. In questions submitted to Washington, the panel also sought information about secret detention facilities and specifically whether the United States assumed responsibility for alleged acts of torture in them, U.N. officials...
By Adam Tanner SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The United States, accused by Amnesty International of twice using Croatia as a stopover point for terrorism suspects, never informed the government about such landings, Croatia's president said on Saturday. "We wish to know why our territory is used, if it is used," Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told Reuters during a visit to San Francisco. "A part of my constitutional powers is also the appointment of the heads of the intelligence services,...
By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi court on Wednesday threw out terrorism charges against a cameraman for U.S. network CBS who has been held in jail for a year, saying there was no evidence against him. Iraqi security forces fired warning shots into the air as journalists tried to speak to cameraman Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein's American lawyer outside the court. The guards told Reuters they fired because journalists refused to turn off their cameras. Lawyer Scott Horton and...
By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army dog handler was sentenced to six months in prison for tormenting detainees at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib jail with his unmuzzled Belgian shepherd, an Army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Sgt. Michael Smith, 24, faced up to 8 1/2 years in prison after he was found guilty on six of 13 counts brought against him. He will also have his rank reduced to private and must pay a total of $2,250 in fines for harassing and threatening...
By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army dog handler was sentenced to six months in prison for tormenting detainees at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib jail with his unmuzzled Belgian shepherd, an Army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Sgt. Michael Smith, 24, faced up to 8 1/2 years in prison after he was found guilty on six of 13 counts brought against him. He will also have his rank reduced to private and must pay a total of $2,250 in fines for harassing and threatening...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army dog handler has been sentenced to roughly 6 months in prison for abusing detainees at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib jail, an Army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Sgt. Michael Smith, 24, will also have his rank reduced to private and must pay a $2,250 fine for using his unmuzzled dog to harass and threaten inmates at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004, Army spokeswoman Shaunteh Kelly said. After he serves his 179-day sentence he will be released from the...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army dog handler has been sentenced to roughly 6 months in prison for abusing detainees at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib jail, an Army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Sgt. Michael Smith, 24, will also have his rank reduced to private and must pay a $2,250 fine for using his unmuzzled dog to harass and threaten inmates at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004, Army spokeswoman Shaunteh Kelly said. After he serves his 179-day sentence he will be released from the...
