humble3d Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Can’t Declare Torture Lawful... Major New Court Ruling Says “Even The President” Can’t Declare Torture Lawful http://i.imgur.com/eqoI15x.jpg http://i.imgur.com/k0Xygbv.gif In a robust ruling in favor of Abu Ghraib detainees, an appellate court ruled Friday that torture is such a clear violation of the law that it is “beyond the power of even the president to declare such conduct lawful.” The ruling from a unanimous panel of judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates a lawsuit against a military contractor for its role in the torture of four men at the notorious prison in Iraq. Last June, a district court ruled that a “cloud of ambiguity” surrounds the definition of torture, and that despite anti-torture laws, the decision to torture was a “political question” that could not be judged by courts. That ruling echoed the widely discredited legal theories of the Bush administration, which argued that the war on terror gave the president the inherent authority to indefinitely detain and torture terror suspects, and conduct mass surveillance on Americans’ international communications. But the Fourth Circuit soundly rejected that theory, saying that the United States has clear laws against torturing detainees that apply to the executive branch. “While executive officers can declare the military reasonableness of conduct amounting to torture, it is beyond the power of even the president to declare such conduct lawful,” wrote appellate Judge Barbara Keenan, writing for the unanimous panel. The case in question revolves around contractors from CACI Premier Technologies who participated in the interrogations of the four men in 2004, subjecting them to extreme temperatures, electric shocks, broken bones, death threats, and sexual abuse. The Center for Constitutional Rights originally filed suit against CACI on behalf of the detainees in 2008. The company has been seeking to dismiss the lawsuit ever since, and this is the fourth time it reached the appeals court. The plaintiffs and advocates at the Center for Constitutional Rights celebrated the decision. “Torture is illegal and can never be a ‘policy choice,'” said Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights. “As the court made clear, neither the military nor the president — let alone a government lawyer — has the power to declare torture legal.” Salah Hassan, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement: “Today, part of justice was achieved and this is something wonderful, not only for me and the other plaintiffs, but for all the just causes in the world.” The lawsuit will now go back to the district court for consideration of the detainees’ claims. The CCR previously won a settlement in 2013 on behalf of 71 Ahu Ghraib detainees against L-3 Services, another military contractor at Abu Ghraib. https://theintercept.com/2016/10/21/major-new-court-ruling-says-even-the-president-cant-declare-torture-lawful/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46&2 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Torture is illegal well its immoral for sure, but you can pass a thousand laws and THEY will still do what they want or deem necessary, torture included. big waste of time, some entities are above the law whether we like it or not, or right or not. thats just how it is, always been and will always be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straycat19 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 It's always easier to be a Monday morning quarterback when you weren't there on the field Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Agree that torture is immoral! Someone who is tortured might confess anything. Even what he doesn't know! Or might NOT confess even under the most extreme torture! There is the age-old question: what can do responsible and legitimate authorities having some reasonable suspicion that life of innocent people - might be just one or might be thousands or even MILLIONS - depends on information WITHOLD in power of some immoral delinquent, be it for political, religious or just some common personal reasons... TIME IS RUNNING OUT and they find no reasonable way to convince or get a confession! Is it legitimate to get "cooperation" with the use of some "will power suppressor" drug? Can this kind of drug be used if it might have permanent effects on brain even if the delinquent won't suffer physical pain? And finally, if the information obtained proved to be correct and authorities saved lifes, should someone be prosecuted for getting this information by using some "forced" confession? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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