IT’S ON

UN Official Wants Torture Prosecution

No immunity, period.

The top UN special investigator declared Wednesday that the senior U.S. officials who authorized and carried out torture under President George W. Bush should be prosecuted. In addition, Ben Emmerson, the UN’s special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, said that all CIA and other U.S. officials who used waterboarding and other torture methods should be pursued. He claimed that the new Senate CIA report shows “there was a clear policy orchestrated at a high level within the Bush administration, which allowed to commit systematic crimes and gross violations of international human rights law.” Emmerson argued that the U.S. government is “legally obliged to bring those responsible to justice” and that public officials who authorize or conduct torture cannot be given immunity under international law.