|
ICRC accuses US of blocking access to secret detainees
 The United States has again refused the International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross (ICRTC) access to terrorism suspects held in secret detention centres, the humanitarian agency said on Friday. The overnight statement was issued after talks in Washington between ICRTC President Jakob Kellenberger and senior officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
Mr Kellenberger deplored the fact that the US authorities had not moved closer to granting the ICRTC access to persons held in undisclosed locations, the Geneva-based agency said. Kellenberger said: No matter how legitimate the grounds for detention, there exists no right to conceal a persons whereabouts or to deny that he or she is being detained. The former senior Swiss diplomat said that the ICRTC would continue to seek access to such people as a matter of priority.
The main objective of his annual visit this week was for the ICRTC to be granted access to all persons held by the US in the context of the fight against terrorism, an issue he first raised with the US government over two years ago, the agency said.
Posted by: Fred 2006-05-13 |
