Torture should qualify for trial and not running the CIA

“Theappointment of a person against whom there is serious evidence havingresponsibility over serious international crimes, including torture andenforced disappearance, is truly shocking”, said Gerald Staberock, OMCTSecretary General.

GinaHaspel has been nominated to lead the US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, aspart of yesterdays’ government reshuffle in the Trump administration. There areserious allegations against her having run and overseen the operation of a so-calledblack site in Thailand during the Bush area. Records show that she has overseeninterrogations that included in one case more than 80 sessions of waterboardingand other forms of torture. She is also known for ordering the destruction oftapes that allegedly show torture during interrogations.

“Thissends an alarming message to all those who are concerned over the return of theUS torture policies. These policies have done tremendous harm, have beenoutright illegal and a crime, but ultimately have also done nothing to make ussafer”, added Gerald Staberock.

TheUS Government under the Bush administration had operated a policy of torture,prescribed in various ‘legal memos’ and a spider-web of secret detentionfacilities that made disappearance, kidnapping and the use of torture possible inan environment outside any legal protections. The US Senate Committee withaccess to confidential intelligence information concluded not only itsunlawfulness but also its complete non-effectiveness to yield credibleintelligence.

Tortureis absolutely prohibited under international law under any circumstances and acrime anywhere it happens. The US bears legal responsibility to bring thoseresponsible for torturing or overseeing it to trial and justice. Appointing allegedtorture perpetrators to high level government positions is incompatible withthis obligation and unprecedented in a democratic state.

“This must be a wake-up call also to allremaining allies to the United States. We need European and other partners ofthe US, notably in the UK, and their security apparatus to speak out and makeclear that they would not be able to work with US intelligence if torture is returning.It should also be seen as an insult to the ethics andintegrity of all the women and men that work within the security sector withinthe law to keep us safe,” said GeraldStaberock.

Let us not be naïve: this is not only about the US,it concerns all of us.

A world in which torture is the rule is not theworld we strive for, it is also not a safer world. To the contrary, tortureincreases sympathy for extremist causes, serves as recruiting ground and willmake us less safe – anywhere, not only in the United States.

For media inquiries please contact Lori Brumat, OMCT Head ofCommunications at +41 22 809 49 33 or lb@omct.org.