Rumsfeld defends prohibiting UN interviews with Guantanamo detainees News
Rumsfeld defends prohibiting UN interviews with Guantanamo detainees

[JURIST] US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [official profile] on Tuesday defended the US government's decision to prohibit UN human rights observers from interviewing detainees [JURIST report] on any visit to the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The UN observers said Monday they would not accept the invitation [JURIST report] unless they could interview the detainees. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website] Manfred Nowak explained in a New York press conference [JURIST video] that interviews with detainees are necessary for an effective fact-finding mission. The US government's limited invitation to UN human rights observers came after nearly three years of UN requests to see the facility. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Congress considers impeaching President Andrew Johnson

On November 25, 1867, a US Congressional commission began looking into the possible impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. Learn more about the impeachment of President Johnson from contemporary articles in Harper's Weekly, and pay a virtual visit to the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee.