US Senate votes to strengthen torture ban, adopts measures to help set parameters
In a 78-21 vote, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly agreed to strengthen a ban on torture as part of a defense policy bill.
The National Defense Authorization Act amendment also includes provisions that limit interrogation techniques to those authorized by the Army Field Manual and require the U.S. government to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross “prompt” access to detainees. It is still under consideration by the House of Representatives.
The Associated Press, the Guardian, The Hill and the Washington Post (reg. req.) have stories.
The vote comes six months after a Senate intelligence committee released a 500-page report suggesting that harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks could be considered tantamount to torture.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “ACLU Suit in US Was Dismissed, But Euro Court Says Man Mistaken for Terrorist Was Brutalized by CIA”
ABAJournal.com: “Report: Secret order by military judge requires CIA to reveal ‘black site’ info in USS Cole case”
ABAJournal.com: “Should those who OK’d ‘brutal interrogation techniques in violation of US law’ be prosecuted?”
The Guardian (opinion): “Torture is a war crime the government treats like a policy debate”
