US Senate Votes to Ban Torture

The United States Senate voted Tuesday on banning torture, referred to as “enhanced interrogation methods”, from taking place in any sector of the U.S. government. The ban comes as part of an amendment to the National Authorization Act that had allowed the Central Intelligence Agency to use torture against detainees after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

The Senate voted 78-21 in favor of the new bill which was introduced a week ago by Republican Senator John McCain and Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein.

RELATED: Accountability and Fair Trials: CIA Torture

“Our enemies act without conscience. We must not,” said McCain, an army veteran who was tortured in Vietnam and an outspoken critic of the practice. “We must continue to insist that the methods we employ in this fight for peace and freedom must always — always — be as right and honorable as the goals and ideals we fight for.”

 

Our enemies act without conscience. We must not. Stmt on Senate approving my amdt affirming ban on #torture 78-21: https://t.co/hvUXYD1gZ2

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 16, 2015

The banned practices included waterboarding, "rectal feeding," mock executions, hooding prisoners, and sexual humiliation. The new bill would limit any interrogation practices to rules outlined in the U.S. Army Field Manual. The amendment also requires that U.S. officials immediately notify the International Red Cross in the event of an individual taken into U.S. custody or control.

 

The US Senate just took 1st vote on #torture in years & it’s a huge victory for human rights: http://t.co/ihrxNtsNGX pic.twitter.com/J6u34E80Wk

— Steven W Hawkins (@StevenWHawkins) June 16, 2015

The vote comes several months after the Senate Intelligence Committee, which was headed by Feinstein at the time, released a report documenting the gruesome abuses that the CIA had committed against detainees post the 9/11 attacks.

The report slammed the CIA's arguments for the torture techniques and concluded that in most instances, the enhanced interrogation methods did not result in any vital information that helped anti-terrorism efforts.

 

Just remember that 21 Senators endorsed torture today: http://t.co/B88u39JToQ

— kobkob (@kobkob333) June 16, 2015

Since December when the CIA torture report was released, Feinstein has pushed for today's legislation but ran into political deadlocks after Republicans became the Senate's majority. “I’ll take 70-plus votes anytime,” Feinstein said after the vote, highlighting the fact that 21 Republican Senators still voted against banning torture and for its continuation within the U.S. law system. 

RELATED: U.S. Senate Report on CIA Torture