Pakistan hands hundreds of suspects to U.S. for money: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Pakistani authorities have illegally sent hundreds of Pakistanis and foreigners to prisons or handed them to the United States for money, said a report released Friday by Amnesty International.

"Bounty hunters, including police officers and local people, have captured individuals of different nationalities, often apparently at random, and sold them into U.S. custody," said Claudio Cordone, the senior director of research at the human rights organization.

The report is based on a number of interviews with former detainees, including citizens from Bahrain, Australia, Britain, Ethiopia and Sweden, who say they were illegally abducted while in Pakistan and handed over to American authorities.

Offered up to $5,000 US a suspect

Fuelled by American offers of up to $5,000 US for suspects, they were sent to the U.S. naval prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the U.S. Bagram air base in Afghanistan or secret detention centres run by the U.S. but based in other countries.

"People held in Pakistan for alleged links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban have been arrested and detained without reference to national or international human rights law," says the report.

"Custodial safeguards have been blatantly ignored and the protection of law has been routinely denied."

In a statement, Amnesty said such detainees also are at "risk of torture and unlawful transfer to third countries."

The group did not specify how many detainees had been arrested by Pakistan, or say how many it believed were innocent.

Road to Guantanamo 'starts in Pakistan'

The Amnesty allegations follow the revelation by the country's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in his memoir In The Line of Fire that Pakistan had captured 689 al-Qaeda terror suspects, and turned over 369 to Washington.

"We have earned bounties totalling millions of dollars," said Musharraf, who is in London after spending part of the week in North America, where he met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Canada and U.S. President George W. Bush as well as promoting his book.

"The road to Guantanamo very literally starts in Pakistan," said Amnesty's Cordone.

Pakistani officials haven't commented on the report, which recommends the country end the alleged practices.

"While recognizing that some of the human rights violations perpetrated in the context of the 'war on terror' may have been carried out at the behest of U.S. officials, as a sovereign state Pakistan bears full responsibility for all human rights violations committed on its territory and with its knowledge and consent," the report says.

Read Today's Knowledge Driven News
HOME Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	Pakistan hands hundreds of suspects to U.S. for money: report CBC News October 02, 2006 Pakistani authorities have illegally sent hundreds of Pakistanis and foreigners to prisons or handed them to the United States for money, said a report released Friday by Amnesty International. "Bounty hunters, including police officers and local people, have captured individuals of different nationalities, often apparently at random, and sold them into U.S. custody," said Claudio Cordone, the senior director of research at the human rights organization. The report is based on a number of interviews with former detainees, including citizens from Bahrain, Australia, Britain, Ethiopia and Sweden, who say they were illegally abducted while in Pakistan and handed over to American authorities. Offered up to $5,000 US a suspect Fuelled by American offers of up to $5,000 US for suspects, they were sent to the U.S. naval prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the U.S. Bagram air base in Afghanistan or secret detention centres run by the U.S. but based in other countries. "People held in Pakistan for alleged links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban have been arrested and detained without reference to national or international human rights law," says the report. "Custodial safeguards have been blatantly ignored and the protection of law has been routinely denied." In a statement, Amnesty said such detainees also are at "risk of torture and unlawful transfer to third countries." The group did not specify how many detainees had been arrested by Pakistan, or say how many it believed were innocent. Road to Guantanamo 'starts in Pakistan' The Amnesty allegations follow the revelation by the country's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in his memoir In The Line of Fire that Pakistan had captured 689 al-Qaeda terror suspects, and turned over 369 to Washington. "We have earned bounties totalling millions of dollars," said Musharraf, who is in London after spending part of the week in North America, where he met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Canada and U.S. President George W. Bush as well as promoting his book. "The road to Guantanamo very literally starts in Pakistan," said Amnesty's Cordone. Pakistani officials haven't commented on the report, which recommends the country end the alleged practices. "While recognizing that some of the human rights violations perpetrated in the context of the 'war on terror' may have been carried out at the behest of U.S. officials, as a sovereign state Pakistan bears full responsibility for all human rights violations committed on its territory and with its knowledge and consent," the report says. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive
		What Is Wrong With Canada ? Recent 9-11 News Suppressed by the Media Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave Knowledge Driven Look at Your Favourite Canadian Political Parties
		July August September 2006 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Weekly Features 2006 2005 Read Today's Knowledge Driven News
		Counter
Copyright � 2005-6 KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

Pakistan hands hundreds of suspects to U.S. for money: report