Intelligence officers could face court for "aiding and abetting torture" despite new guidelines

Source: Telegraph

Intelligence officers could face court for "aiding and abetting torture" despite new guidelines
Intelligence officers could be prosecuted for aiding and abetting torture overseas because new guidelines are not clear enough, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has claimed.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
6:25PM BST 24 Jun 2011

The human rights watchdog has announced it is taking the government to court over the guidelines issued to MI5, MI6, and military intelligence officers, claiming they could still allow terrorism suspects questioned overseas to be tortured.

The rules were published for the first time last July in the wake of two cases where individual MI5 and MI6 officers had allegedly failed to prevent mistreatment.

The guidance sets out the steps which intelligence officers have to take before they interrogate prisoners held abroad, ask others to conduct interrogation on their behalf or ask a foreign government to arrest a suspect.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission claims that the guidance leaves officers in the field with the “erroneous expectation that they will be protected from personal criminal liability” where torture is committed by others.



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8597618/Intelligence-officers-could-face-court-for-aiding-and-abetting-torture-despite-new-guidelines.html

It must also apply to those who gave the orders, Mr. Blair, also.

:blush:

Alas...