The Obama administration has released four internal CIA memos detailing interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects during the Bush years, CNN reports.
The president pledged to work to ensure the actions described in the memos “never take place again.”
Top CIA officials argued against the release of the more “graphic details” of the memos, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Attorney General Eric Holder said CIA officials will not be prosecuted for the harsh interrogation techniques documented in the memos. President Obama, who called the legacy of the Bush administration’s interrogation policies “a dark and painful chapter,” echoed the promise that Americans wouldn’t be charged with crimes: “This is a time for reflection, not retribution.”
Though the U.S. doesn’t intend to prosecute, torture is a crime under international law.
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was ratified by the U.N. in 1984.
Will detainees or other parties charge CIA officials with torture? And if they did, would the release of these memos bolster their argument?
Read Amnesty International’s view of Torture and International Law.
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