U.S.: ACLU: No accountability for US detainee treatment, deaths
- So far, the documents released by the government raise more questions than they answer, but they do confirm one troubling fact: that no senior officials have been held to account for the widespread abuse of detainees. Without real accountability for these abuses, we risk inviting more abuse in the future.
- A statement from the ACLU • Regarding a series of documents they released detailing the deaths of 190 US detainees, some of which have been reported by the media, but others are new. A handful – around 25 to 30 – are what the ACLU describes as “unjustified homicide.” One disturbing finding – over 25 percent of the deaths listed were due to cardiac problems, which leads to questions over how detainees are being confined. For its part, the Department of Defense, uh, defends itself. “Although there have been cases of individuals involved in misconduct,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Tanya Bradsher, “there is no evidence of systematic abuse by the United States military.” Food for thought? source