Amnesty International Welcomes Senate Committee's Conclusions on Detainee Abuses

Larry Cox, executive director
of Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement in response
to the executive summary and conclusions of the U.S. Senate Armed Services
Committee report that concluded that detainee abuses in the war on terror
were a direct result of the Bush administration's national security policies:

"This report's conclusions validate
what everybody has long suspected -- detainee abuse was not the work of
a few rogue actors but a direct result of a deliberate set of policies
designed and supported at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

"Amnesty International reiterates its
call for a thorough and independent investigation of the widespread and
systematic abuses undertaken in the name of national security. Senior
Bush administration officials were repeatedly warned that not only were
these 'interrogation' techniques counterproductive, but they were illegal
and could expose people to prosecution.

"It is shameful that the only people held
accountable for these actions have been a few soldiers who were operating
in a command climate that pushed them to carry out these illegal and immoral
actions. Today's report makes clear that blame is to be shared up as well
as down the chain of command. It is time to bring all those responsible
for this reprehensible chapter in America's history to justice and begin
the nation's path back to the rule of law."

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning
grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters,
activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human
rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates
and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice,
freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org/ctwj.