World | USA
Bush signs controversial anti-terrorism law
US President George W Bush on Tuesday signed into law, a controversial bill which in effect allows secret overseas CIA prisons, harsh interrogation practices and military trials as weapons against suspected terrorists.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 October 18, 2006
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Bush called the Military Commissions Act "one of the most important pieces of legislation in the war on terror".
Washington: US President George W Bush on Tuesday signed into law, a controversial bill which in effect allows secret overseas CIA prisons, harsh interrogation practices and military trials as weapons against suspected terrorists.
The bill comes after a Supreme Court ruling in June which found that military tribunals set up to prosecute detainees at
“The bill I sign today helps secure this country, and it sends a clear message: This nation is patient and decent and fair, and we will never back down from the threats to our freedom,'' Bush said at a White House signing ceremony.
Bush called the Military Commissions Act "one of the most important pieces of legislation in the war on terror", said said it was a rare occasion when a president signed a law that he knew would save American lives "I have that privilege this morning," he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union in a statement called the new legislation “one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history''.
“The president can now — with the approval of Congress — indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse and put people on trial based on hearsay evidence,'' ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said.
More from USA
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Allies quit ruling coalition in Nepal
Political row could trigger months of street protests and violence
-
Qatar blaze 'started at nursery'
Fire killed 19 including 13 children, at Doha’s main shopping centre
-
Jagan jailed over illegal assets
Andhra Pradesh leader accused of corruption, cheating, conspiracy
