The United States has moved 14 key terrorism suspects held in secret CIA prisons to military control, while the Pentagon banned a series of what it called abusive interrogation tactics for all detainees, officials said today.
President George W. Bush was to announce today that these 14 suspects were transferred to Pentagon control for prosecution at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the military already holds roughly 445 prisoners, a Bush administration official said.
The official said the announcement was an acknowledgment of the existence of the CIA program to interrogate high-value terrorism suspects.
Up to now, the US government has not officially acknowledged the existence of the CIA prisons, which were revealed by the Washington Postlast year, sparking international criticism of the Bush administration.
The Pentagon also unveiled a new directive that said all detainees of the US military will be ensured humane treatment, but some such as al-Qaeda members would have fewer protections than traditional prisoners of war.
Separately, the Pentagon unveiled long-awaited changes to the 1992 Army Field Manual governing the interrogation of prisoners held by the U.S. military. The changes came more than two years after the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal and criticism from human rights activists over treatment of Guantanamo detainees.
The White House also was expected to unveil proposed legislation to set the rules for conducting trials of foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
The Army Field Manual explicitly prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and mentions eight specific prohibitions, said Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. Interrogators may not force a detainee to be naked, perform sexual acts or pose in a sexual manner, and cannot place hoods or sacks over a detainee's head or use duct tape over his eyes.
They cannot beat or electrically shock or burn a detainee or inflict other forms of physical pain.