On December 14, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lower court’s ruling on a case brought by four former Guantanamo detainees against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In the lower court’s ruling, it was determined that neither the Geneva Convention nor the Alien Tort Statute applied on the basis that “torture is a foreseeable consequence of the military’s detention of suspected enemy combatants.”
Why did the Supreme Court refuse to review the ruling? Because the Obama administration specifically requested they do so. What ever happened to this statement; “I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture. And I’m gonna make sure that we don’t torture.”
It boggles the mind to see U.S. courts ruling that “torture is a foreseeable consequence” of being detained by the U.S. military and that fact is enough to rule that said torture legal.
What have we become?
For some background information:
Alien Tort Statute, from Wikipedia:
This statute is notable for allowing United States courts to hear human rights cases brought by foreign citizens for conduct committed outside the United States.
[...]
Courts have found torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; genocide; war crimes; crimes against humanity; summary execution; prolonged arbitrary detention; and forced disappearance to be actionable under the ATS.
Geneva Conventions, from Wikipedia:
The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. [...] The language is extensive, with articles defining the basic rights of those captured during a military conflict, establishing protections for the wounded, and addressing protections for civilians in and around a war zone.
Similar Posts:
- War on Terror, Torture and the American Identity Crisis
- Book Review: Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights
- Book Review: Because It Is Wrong: Torture, Privacy and Presidential Power in the Age of Terror
- Interesting Reading; The Ongoing Interrogation Debate
- Collateral Damage In A War Of Choice