Bush visit: OFDFM 'must raise torture, Guantanamo and rendition' - Amnesty's call to Robinson and McGuinness

Ahead of US President George Bush's visit to Northern Ireland (16 June), Amnesty International has written to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness calling on them to raise the issues of Guantánamo Bay, torture and extraordinary rendition when they meet the president.

In the letter, Amnesty's Northern Ireland director Patrick Corrigan urges the First and Deputy First Ministers to use the opportunity of the Bush visit to call for a closure of the Guantánamo camp, end the use of torture such as 'waterboarding' on detainees and disclose detailed information about the use of Shannon Airport and Diego Garcia for ‘extraordinary rendition' flights.

Referring in the letter to the six and a half years since the first prisoners were taken to Guantánamo, Patrick Corrigan says:

"There is a broad consensus that Guantánamo should close. I urge you to discuss in detail how and when the USA is intending to do this and how EU countries might be able to help."

Meanwhile, the letter also urges the First and Deputy First Ministers to:

"express Northern Ireland’s abhorrence at the use of torture in the 'war on terror', specifically at the practice of 'waterboarding'" where a detainee is tortured through a simulation of drowning.