[JURIST] A day after President Bush dismissed as "absurd" [JURIST report] an Amnesty International rights report [AI press release] condemning the US for ill-treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [DOD profile] Wednesday defended the US military's handling of Gitmo detainees, calling the AI report "reprehensible" but acknowledging that some prisoners have been "grievously" mistreated. Amnesty International USA Executive Director William F. Schulz [profile] quickly responded [AI USA press release] by accusing US officials of ignoring the hardship endured by prisoners held without charge and pointing a finger at Rumsfeld in particular:

The deliberate policy of this administration is to detain individuals without charge or trial in prisons at Guantanamo Bay, Bagram Air Base and other locations, where their treatment has not conformed to international standards. Donald Rumsfeld personally approved a December 2002 memorandum that permitted such unlawful interrogation techniques as stress positions, prolonged isolation, stripping, and the use of dogs at Guantanamo Bay, and he should be held accountable, as should all those responsible for torture, no matter how senior.