[JURIST] The US military's determination that there is not sufficient evidence to support allegations of abuse [statement, PDF; JURIST report] at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] prompted Amnesty International [advocacy website] Thursday to renew its calls for an independent investigation into the allegations. In a statement [text], Amnesty called the military's investigation into the abuse allegations [JURIST report] "flawed" as no actual detainees were interviewed and said that "secrecy surrounding the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay allows human rights abuses to go unpunished."

The statement continued:

The US administration investigating itself is not enough. Instead, the US authorities should allow independent bodies, including Amnesty International, to visit the detention centre and interview all prisoners in order to ensure that their complaints are not going unheard.

The latest abuse allegations arose after Marine Sgt. Heather Cerveny provided a two-page sworn statement [PDF] last year claiming she conversed with a group of off-duty Marines who bragged of beating and abusing detainees. Southern Command said earlier this week that "investigators conducted 20 separate interviews" with the personnel involved and determined that "the evidence did not support any allegations of mistreatment or harassment."