ABA issues plea over detention techniques

American Bar Association President William C. Hubbard has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch urging the government to condemn any use of torture and ensure the international community that the United States is a leader in promoting human rights and the rule of law.

The letter comes as the Senate voted recently to prohibit the U.S. from using “enhanced interrogation” practices and other detention techniques widely condemned as torture.

The Senate approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 that will require all U.S. government interrogations that occur outside a law enforcement context to abide by the Army Field Manual on Interrogations.