Washington, February 20: Two US lawyers who contributed to the sanctioning of torture techniques on terrorism suspects during former President George W. Bush’s tenure are spared disciplinary reprisal.
The US Justice Department said in a Friday report that John Yoo and Jay Bybee had engaged in professional misconduct, but spared them punitive measures.
The long-anticipated Justice Department memo said that the two authors of torture scripts “violated” their duties and “acted in reckless disregard” in practicing independent legal judgment.
However, the document stops short of incriminating the two law authorities, which would, in turn necessitate judgment.
The so-called enhanced questioning method they authorized included water-boarding of terrorism suspects as the Bush administration tried to elicit intelligence after the September 11 incident for capturing or killing anti-American militants.
During the Bush administration, Yoo and Bybee were high-ranking officials in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
The latest news comes despite human rights groups’ pressure on President Barack Obama to pursue criminal charges against those blamed for torturing detainees during the Bush era.
——–Agencies