Lawmakers want inquiry into UK complicity in torture

Source: Reuters

A full independent inquiry into allegations of British complicity in torture is the only way to address "woefully deficient" government accountability for security and intelligence services, legislators said on Tuesday.

A parliamentary committee on human rights criticised ministers for persistently ducking questions and avoiding scrutiny about Britain's role in, and knowledge of, alleged torture of terrorism suspects, and said this must stop.

"Ministers are determined to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and accountability," the committee said in a report. It said they had refused requests for oral evidence, provided "standard" answers to some questions which "failed to address the issues", and in some cases ignored questions entirely.

"In view of the large number of unanswered questions ... there is now no other way to restore public confidence in the intelligence services than by setting up an independent inquiry," it said in a report.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L3639017.htm

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'Torture' victims need independent inquiry, say MPs
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/torture-victims-need-independent-inquiry-say-mps-1766942.html
MPs and peers call for inquiry into torture
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/04/mps-government-inquiry-torture-complicity

Lawmakers want investigation into government complicity in torture? What kind of bizzaro country is this, where up is down, black is white, and torture is...torture and deemed a violation of human rights? Oh, sorry, sometimes I forget that other governments are not as ass backward as our "beloved" Congress.
You know, I think there was a time when torture was actually considered a crime in the US...of course, that went out with poodle skirts, the DuMont Network, and an America sense of dignity.

And if people are held accountable for their knowledge of what the US did, then it will be all the more glaring for the US to ignore the whole thing.