USA: Torture in black and white, but impunity continues: Department of Justice releases interrogation memorandums

USA: Torture in black and white, but impunity continues: Department of Justice releases interrogation memorandums

On 16 April 2009, the US Department of Justice released, largely un-redacted, four memorandums written in the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2002 and 2005. The documents give an insight into how the previous administration lost its legal and moral compass in turning to torture and other ill-treatment in the name of counter-terrorism. The accompanying statements issued by the new President and the Attorney General, effectively conferring impunity for acts of torture, are incompatible with the USA’s international legal obligation to bring perpetrators to justice.