Jurists Are Shocked

by Dee Newman

The International Commission of Jurists released yesterday the results of a three-year study of the policies adopted by the United States, Great Britain, and other nations to address terrorism after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The Washington Post reported that Arthur Chaskalson, a member of the International Commission of Jurist and a former chief justice of South Africa at a press conference in Geneva yesterday told reporters, “We have been shocked by the damage done over the past seven years by excessive or abusive counter-terrorism measures in a wide range of countries around the world. Many governments, ignoring the lessons of history, have allowed themselves to be rushed into hasty responses to terrorism that have undermined cherished values and violated human rights.”

The entire report can be read at the Internation Commission of Jurists Website.

According to a USA Today Gallop Poll two-thirds of Americans now believe “there should be investigations into allegations that the Bush team used torture to interrogate terrorism suspects.”