WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International Wednesday called for an independent counsel to investigate U.S. treatment of detainees.
In letters addressed to President George Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, the ACLU also urged the establishment of an independent commission to review current policies, including the Geneva Conventions, to examine the extent of alleged abuse, mistreatment and torture, and to recommend reforms.
The letters called for the appointment of a special counsel to determine the extent of any criminal wrongdoing, including violations of federal law prohibiting torture and breaches of the Geneva Conventions, in the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
In a separate statement, Amnesty International called for the immediate
appointment of a special counsel to investigate the alleged torture and
ill-treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody, citing leaked memoranda from the Justice and Defense departments "as evidence that the independence of current investigations is critically compromised."
