*Ø* Blogmanac | Amnesty critical of US example

"United States of America: The threat of a bad example"
News Release from Amnesty International, 18 August

"The very core of American history, law and culture condemns the ideas of punishment before trial, denial of due process and secret government by fiat... Who is an enemy combatant? Today, it can be anyone the president wants. And that is terrifying." A former judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey.

The US has displayed a troubling tendency to seek unchallengeable executive power for itself in the context of its "war on terror". It has created a parallel justice system in which the executive has the power to detain, interrogate, charge or try suspects under the "laws of war", Amnesty International said as it published a new report today.

"All too often where the US leads others follow - increasingly by using the language of "war", governments have disregarded human rights obligations; by using the term "terror" they have endeavoured to avoid international human rights law; and by using the phrase "war on terror", they have challenged the very framework of human rights and international humanitarian law."

Read further, and/or take action:

Continue reading the report here
Guantánamo Bay: Urge the USA to guarantee fair trials for all. Take action here
Tell the US and UK: oil revenues must be used to secure rights of all Iraqis. Take action here
All Amnesty documents on USA here