US will not torture, says Obama

October 11th, 2009 Mugabe cronies dumped by state in torture caseHARARE, Zimbabwe — A Zimbabwean official says several top officials and cronies of President Robert Mugabe being sued for torture have been renounced by the state and will not receive legal assistance. Deputy Attorney General Prince Machaya told The Associated Press on Sunday that the state will not represent officials being sued by prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and eight others.

May 6th, 2009 Centuries-old torture devices to be auctioned offNEW YORK — A large variety of torture devices dating from the 16th century are being auctioned off to benefit anti-torture groups, including Amnesty International. The gruesome collection includes so-called shame masks to enforce silence, a 14-foot rack to stretch a victim's body, a tongue tearer to punish blasphemers and heretics, and an executioner's ax.

May 4th, 2009 Rice takes question from 4th-grader on tortureWASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Jewish elementary school students that the Bush administration did not use illegal interrogation tactics. Her remarks were in response to a question from Misha Lerner, a fourth-grader at the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation's Capital, The Washington Post reported Monday.

April 30th, 2009 Obama says torture violates nation's idealsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling waterboarding torture and an act that violates the nation's ideals and values, and he says that's why he decided to ban the practice. Answering questions at a prime-time news conference, Obama said Wednesday the American people will eventually recognize that banning torture enhances the U.S.

April 30th, 2009 Anti-torture activists march to White HouseWASHINGTON — More than 100 anti-torture activists are marching solemnly from the U.S. Capitol to the White House.

April 30th, 2009 Anti-torture demonstrators arrested at White HouseWASHINGTON — U.S. Park Police have arrested about 60 anti-torture activists in front of the White House.

April 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has emerged more popular than any of his recent predecessors in his first 100 days in office, according to opinion polls. Barack Obama currently has a 63 per cent job approval rating, reports The Telegraph.

April 24th, 2009 UN torture envoy: US must prosecute Bush lawyersVIENNA — The U.S. is obligated by a United Nations convention to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who allegedly drafted policies that approved the use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects, the U.N.'s top anti-torture envoy said Friday.

April 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been out of the spotlight, earning up to 150,000 dollars for speaking engagements and lunching with celebrities like American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

April 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A high-profile attorney has claimed that the declassified Department of Justice memos detailing interrogation techniques prove the U.S. did not torture, even as the ACLU and some lawmakers claim the memos are proof positive the Bush administration did.

April 18th, 2009 VIENNA - The US would be in breach of international law if it does not prosecute CIA officials for torturing alleged terrorists, UN monitor on torture Manfred Nowak said in a newspaper interview published Saturday in Austria. The UN Special Rapporteur on torture was reacting to the announcement by US President Barack Obama that CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) operatives who used harsh interrogation tactics authorised by the Bush administration should not be held responsible.

April 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Thursday released four internal legal opinions that were used by former president George W. Bush's administration as justification for harsh CIA interrogations, but ruled out prosecuting anyone involved in such practices.

February 23rd, 2009 LONDON - A forthcoming human rights report says British agents colluded with their Pakistani counterparts in the routine torture of British - and Pakistani - terror suspects, a newspaper reported Sunday. A study to be published next month by the civil liberties group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says at least 10 Britons are identified who have been allegedly tortured in Pakistan and subsequently questioned by British intelligence officials, the Observer said.

January 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Justice Department told the Senate during his confirmation hearing that he regards waterboarding as torture. The comments Thursday by Eric Holder, the nominee to become the next attorney general, are a clear break from the Bush administration, which maintains it did not condone torture but has refused to publicly state whether waterboarding falls into the category.

January 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A top US official has for the first time publicly stated that a suspect incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay military prison camp was tortured, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Susan J. Crawford, who was the top Bush Administration official deciding on whether suspects at the camp should be brought to trial, told the paper that she decided against prosecuting Saudi national Mohammed al-Qahtani because his interrogation met the legal definition of torture.