Agents of torture must not be absolved

A US White House press release on April 16 confirmed the publication of legal memos issued by senior US administration legal officers between 2002 and 2005, that effectively authorised the use of torture on prisoners in US custody.

The formal admission that such documents existed and the publication of these documents is to be welcomed.

It is now widely accepted, in the US and internationally, that such abuse of prisoners amounts to torture as defined in the Geneva Conventions and in the UN Convention Against Torture.

President Barack Obama has also been justifiably praised for his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, and some of the other secret “black site” prisons located outside of the US, and for his decision to end the use of torture by US government officials and agents. But Obama’s decision to absolve the agents and officials who authorised, committed, or were complicit in acts of torture, must be reversed.

Dr Edward Horgan

International Secretary,

Irish Peace and Neutrality Alliance

Newtown

Castletroy

Limerick