In spite of ban on torture, American run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, has continue to employ the barbaric practices.
Guantanamo Bay prison is a detention facility for suspected terrorists by the United States.
UN investigator Nils Melzer announced that he has evidence that Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the alleged conspirators in the 9/11 attacks, continues to be tortured at Guantanamo Bay.
The investigator said: “Mr. al-Baluchi has been held in isolation at a severely restricted-access facility at Guantanamo Bay for more than a decade.”
In a statement, he said: “In addition to the long-term effects of past torture, noise and vibrations are reportedly still being used against him, resulting in constant sleep deprivation and related physical and mental disorders, for which he allegedly does not receive adequate medical attention.”
This comes after the US banned “enhanced interrogation techniques,” approved by the administration of George W. Bush after 9/11, almost a decade ago.
“This is one of the most fundamental norms of international law, and its violation is listed among the most serious international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Melzer said.
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“No circumstances, however exceptional and well argued, may be invoked to justify torture.”
Melzer said that if the allegations are true, “the conditions of detention some of the high security inmates are subjected to can only be described as cruel, inhuman and degrading. The only way to determine whether these reports are accurate is for the US to finally allow independent verification by internationally recognised experts.”
“What matters most, and what cannot be disputed, is that US officials have resorted to systematic torture in the past and that the US has consistently refused to prosecute the responsible perpetrators and policy makers,” Melzer added.
“This misguided policy of deliberate impunity for state-sponsored crimes of utmost gravity is not only a danger to US national security, but violates the most basic principles governing any civilized nation, namely humanity, justice and the rule of law,” he said.
The Senate Intelligence Committee admitted to torture practices against suspected terrorists in a 2014 report, and the Obama administration publicly acknowledged its use of torture as well, although the Pentagon continues to deny Melzer’s claims of continued torture on suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
Read more: Sputnik
