CANADA CAVES; REMOVES U.S. AND ISRAEL FROM TORTURE WATCHLIST

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

REUTERS - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close
allies, said it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch
list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured.

Both nations expressed unhappiness after it emerged they had been listed
in a document that formed part of a training course manual on torture
awareness given to Canadian diplomats.

Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment
caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which also classified
some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture.

Amnesty International Canada, which says it has ample evidence that
prisoners are abused both in U.S. and Israeli jails, said it was
disappointed by Bernier's announcement. . .

"When it comes to an issue like torture, the government's main concern
should not be embarrassing allies," Alex Neve, the group's
secretary-general, told Reuters. The U.S. embassy did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.

Under "definition of torture," the document lists U.S. interrogation
techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and
blindfolding prisoners.

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1762987120080119

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||