U.N. investigator says U.S. refuses to deliver “Day of Reckoning” on Bradley Manning torture
Juan Mendez: “Justice, even if it comes late, will come”
Speaking today at an online book discussion, Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, admonished the Obama administration for its lack of a response to requests for a meeting with Bradley Manning. Responding to questions posed from bloggers and readers at an online forum hosted by FireDogLake, Mr. Mendez emphasized that “issues of accountability do not go away” — despite the fact that the administration has stopped exchanging information with him.
The full text of the discussion is available at FireDogLake.
As part of a discussion on Mendez’s new book on the issue of torture, the following selected remarks pertain directly to PFC Manning:
Jason Leopold:
“Juan has spoken about this previously, and its one issue that is a matter of controversy here, and that is the treatment of Bradley Manning. Do you believe his treatment rose to the level of abuse? Additionally, Juan, have you had any further communication with US government officials about Mr. Manning?”
Juan Mendez:
“I engaged the US Govt as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture because of the allegation that he was being held in solitary confinement. I have to say that I had frank conversation with the Dept of Defense about the conditions of his incarceration. I was allowed to see him but with no guarantees of confidentiality, terms that I could not accept. I offered to see Manning nonetheless, through his lawyer, if he wanted to see me, but he prefered not to waive his right to a truly private conversation. In the meantime, when he was moved from Quantico to Fort Leavenworth, his conditions changed and since last April he is no longer in solitary confinement. I am still insiting [sic] on seeing him. In a few weeks I will release my views on the case, since the exchange of information with the USG is essentially over.”
Jane Hamsher:
“…what do you feel about Bradley Manning’s situation? And what does it say about the system that won’t let you see him?”
Mr. Mendez:
“None of us can really hold our breath while we wait for the USG to live up to its obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish every act of torture committed by its agents. The lack of delivery on the promise to have a day of reckoning is truly disappointing. But again, experience shows that issues of accountability do not go away. Of course, it is preferable to have accountability in real time. But justice, even if it comes late, will come and be welcome.”
The comments by the United Nations’ chief torture investigator follow a release of additional information from PFC Manning’s lead counsel, David Coombs, about the witnesses the defense team plans to call. He posted a partially redacted witness list on his blog.
In recent days, Manning’s defense team has emphasized that prosecution officials have withheld evidence that would support his case. These materials include assessments by the Defense Intelligence Agency and the White House that the leaked documents never posed a threat to national security.
If we are, by definition, torturing our own, then we cannot be trusted with a trial on Bradley Manning and he should be given over to a UN tribunal. It’s sad to say that I do not trust my own government to do the right thing with any prisoner anymore.
The US government and military have gone from being the people who prosecuted Nazi war criminals in 1945 to being the Nazi war criminals in 2005. The incarceration and torture of Bradley Manning is just one tiny facet of the Gestapo tactics authorized by the misnamed “Patriot Act”, which beings to mind the well known saying that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”. The Reichstag fire of 1933 in Berlin and the ‘Twin Towers’ of 2001 in New York both served as the pretext for far right wing governments to push through legislation giving them the power to arrest, imprison and even murder anyone without notifying anyone that they had seized someone, and without ever needing to bring the person seized before a court to justify their detention or murder. We have already seen this in action with Drone missile strikes against people in other countries, and the murder of Bin Laden instead of his arrest and trial when he was captured unarmed. Why was the government afraid to try Bin Laden? Maybe because he was a long time CIA agent going back to the days when George Bush was the CIA director? That would be kind of embarrassing coming out in court, eh?
The US has turned into one sick country