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Judges Condemn Camp X-Ray

The Guardian reports on a new resolution by the International Bar Association's Task Force in which Judges from around the world condemn Camp X-Ray:

The International Bar Association's task force on international terrorism said: "States cannot hold detainees, for which they are responsible, outside of the jurisdiction of all international courts ."

The task force was led by Justice Richard Goldstone, a judge of South Africa's constitutional court and former chief prosecutor of the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and Emilio Cardenas, president of the IBA and Argentina's ambassador to the UN. The UK delegate is the Labour peer Helena Kennedy.

...Justice Goldstone said: "The law just doesn't accept black holes. If they're prisoners of war they've got rights under the Geneva convention. If they're civilians they've got rights under the domestic law of the US.

"It's unacceptable and inconsistent with the rule of law that you're holding 662 people without any access to due process. They're at the mercy of Pentagon officials."

The report dovetails with the statement earlier this week by the International Red Cross.

The task force also criticizes the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq:

The IBA task force also suggests the US/UK strike on Iraq was questionable under international law. It says: "The task force has grave doubts as to whether claims of self-defence justify, per se, unilateral action to engage in armed intervention in any country that has not attempted an attack or threatened international peace and security."

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