- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President
Bush, whose administration has been hit by accusations of prisoner abuse,
said on Sunday that the United States was committed to the elimination
of torture worldwide.
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- In a statement to mark United Nations International Day
in Support of Victims of Torture, Bush said: "Freedom from torture
is an inalienable human right, and we are committed to building a world
where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law."
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- Accusations of prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan and
at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have brought into
question the policies of the Bush administration in treating foreign prisoners.
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- The United States has also been accused of sending some
prisoners to countries with poor human rights records where they might
be tortured. An Italian judge last week ordered the arrest of 13 people
linked to the CIA for kidnapping an Egyptian terrorism suspect in Milan
and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was tortured.
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- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in March said the United
States would never send terrorism suspects to countries where they would
be tortured. But he acknowledged that once the prisoners were in the other
country's custody, the United States had little control over their treatment.
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- "America will not pretend that jailed dissidents
prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or
that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies," Bush
said in the statement.
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- "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know:
The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors.
When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you," he said.
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- © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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