UN Cites Torture Reports At Gitmo

Human Rights Experts Say U.S. Stalling In Response To Visit Request

(CBS/AP) 
However, he said, the failure of the United States to respond is leading the experts to conclude that Washington has something to hide.

"At a certain point you have to take well-founded allegations as proven in the absence of a clear explanation by the government."

Nowak said the experts have received a number of allegations about abuse of U.S. detainees.

The experts, who report to U.N. bodies on different human rights issues, said they had yet to hear back from Washington on their latest request — made a year ago and renewed in mid-April — to visit the detention facility.

The U.N. human rights investigators have been trying to visit Guantanamo since early 2002.

Nowak said that in a meeting in April U.S. officials refused to guarantee him the right to speak to detainees in private — an "absolute precondition" for such a visit.

Nowak said his team would need full access to the facilities and the prison population.

"We deeply regret that the government of the United States has still not invited us to visit those persons arrested, detained or tried on grounds of alleged terrorism or other violations," said the statement from the experts.

"The time is up. We have to act now," said Leila Zerrougui of Algeria, specialist on arbitrary detention. "If not, we won't have any credibility left."

Paul Hunt of New Zealand, who monitors physical and mental health, said he wanted to investigate in person "persistent and credible reports" of alleged violations.

"Reportedly medical staff have assisted in the design of interrogation strategies, including sleep deprivation and other coercive interrogation methods," said Hunt.

The experts said they decided to express their misgivings because "the lack of a definitive answer despite repeated requests suggests that the United States is not willing to cooperate with the United Nations human rights machinery on this issue."