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US defends secret CIA prisons
22/09/2006 21:31 - (SA)
Washington - The White House said on Friday that there were ample protections for detainees at secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prisons outside of the United States but would not say how many interrogators, if any, had been punished for violating them.
US President George W Bush confirmed the existence of a network of CIA holding facilities outside of the country during a September 6 speech defending controversial US interrogation practices.
Asked Friday why the US needed these facilities, Bush spokesperson Tony Snow replied: "We're not going to go into what happens or whether there are even prisons.
"In some cases, you don't want it known that people are, in fact, under detention by the US, and that is something that is going to be found out if they are in a general facility.
"There are other reasons, which are classified, that I won't go into."
250 hours of training
Snow said there were extensive "guarantees" to safeguard the rights of the detainees and stressed that "there are a whole series of things there designed to make sure that people will be held accountable" if they violate those rights.
But asked how many times interrogators had been held accountable, Snow replied: "We don't go into any of that."
Snow pointed reporters to CIA chief Michael Hayden's defence of the controversial programme, which has roiled US relations with several European allies, detailing training and oversight measures.
"Before anybody is permitted to engage in any of these sort of interrogation programmes, they need 250 hours of advanced training, 40 hours of observation and training with somebody who is skilled," said Snow.
'Not reliable evidence'
"These tend to be people who are relatively mature - the average age is 43.
"You have an independent observer and a psychologist on the scene, in addition to people doing the questioning.
"At any point, the psychologist or the observer can say, 'sorry, we've got a problem with this, we think that this has gone over the line; you have to stop,' and it stops immediately."
Snow said any evidence gathered through what the White House called "alternative" interrogation practices and what critics called "torture" required review by military lawyers to determine whether it was reliable.
"If somebody is telling you something just because they think that's what you want to hear, that's not reliable evidence," he said.
"Furthermore, you still have a right of action in federal courts if you think the rights have been violated. So there are a whole series of things there designed to make sure people will be held accountable if they do it."
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