|
MEDIA RELEASE: Civil rights Group Says Torture Can Never be Justified
SYDNEY, 17 May 2005 - A Muslim civil rights group is appalled by claims by two Deakin University academics that torture can be justified as an interrogation method.
The Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network (AMCRAN) condemns
Professor Mirko Bagaric’s comments to the Age newspaper that some cases
would legally justify the torture of an innocent person to death.
"Nothing -- no moral, legal or philosophical argument -- can genuinely
justify the use of torture", said Dr Waleed Kadous, co-convenor of AMCRAN.
"It is a demarcation between civilization and barbarism that we must never
cross."
"Indeed, the view that a good end might be reached through an evil method
mirrors the thinking that lies at the heart of the 'public threats' that
torture would supposedly prevent."
"Furthermore, entrusting these kinds of powers to any government can only
lead to abuse and misuse", Dr Kadous warned.
"Historically, governments that have held the power to torture have misued
them. Indeed, the use of torture by the Saddam regime has been frequently
cited as a principle justification for our presence in Iraq."
The Islamic faith, like all world faiths, joins anyone who has studied the
lessons of history, in condemning torture in all its forms.
International treaties like the Geneva Convention and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were not born out of theory, but in
the aftermath of the bloodbaths of two massive world wars.
"It is particularly disturbing that a proponent and apologist for torture
has been sitting on the Refugee Review Tribunal deciding the fate of people
who may themselves be victims of torture," said Dr Kadous.
For more information contact:
Sydney:
Dr Waleed Kadous
Ph: 0403 440 586
Melbourne:
Nasya Bahfen
Ph: 0422 564 485
Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network
http://amcran.org
|
