Rumsfeld Faces “Difficulties” Over Gitmo Torture

Former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld could soon be in trouble for the role he played in human rights abuses committed in the Guantanamo prison, a United Nations expert said.

[efoods]“In a year or two, his responsibilities will be established. Wherever he goes, he will face difficulties,” Leandro Despouy, who is Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said in Geneva today.

A US bipartisan Senate report released late last year found Mr Rumsfeld and other top administration officials responsible for abuse of Guantanamo detainees in US custody.

It said Mr Rumsfeld authorised harsh interrogation techniques on December 2, 2002 at the Guantanamo prison, although he ruled them out a month later.

Mr Despouy said the “strong resistance” put forward by the former US administration to current US president Barack Obama’s decision to close the detention centre has nothing to do with the officially cited reason of “national security” considerations.

Rather they are fearful that they may be taken to task once the detention centre is closed, said Mr Despouy.

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This article was posted: Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 1:06 pm

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