Torture bill passes first hurdle

Waterboarding ... President George W. Bush has called the Bill "a critical tool for pursuing suspected terrorists" / AP

From correspondents in Washington
September 28, 2006 07:55am

THE US House of Representatives has passed a controversial bill overnight concerning the treatment of detainees held in the US "war on terror," which has been denounced by human rights and constitutional law experts.

The bill, which President George W. Bush has called a critical tool for pursuing suspected terrorists, was passed in a 253-168 vote.

The sweeping legislation sets guidelines to interrogate war-on-terror suspects and would send several hundred inmates held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to trial after years of detention.

The draft law allows for secret CIA-run prisons, authorises special tribunals to try the Guantanamo detainees, and forbids "cruel and unusual" punishment of detainees - without further clarification of what falls in that category.

The hard-fought victory was crucial for the Bush administration, as his Republican Party faces the possibility of losing control of both chambers of Congress in November legislative elections.
The draft law was sent to the Senate late on Friday for debate and formal adoption.

Bush administration officials want the Senate to approve the deal before the legislators go on recess at the end of the month.

Critics charge that Mr Bush merely wants legal cover to allow interrogators to continue using "alternative" methods of questioning that reportedly include a simulated drowning technique known as "waterboarding," sleep deprivation, and subjecting suspects to extreme temperatures.
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