Tiny solitary cells under constant illumination, a mere 20 minutes of fresh air daily, and beatings at the hands of guards are indicative of the "torture" endured by some of the 17 people accused of plotting terrorist attacks in Canada, lawyers for the group said Monday.
The allegations of "cruel and unusual punishment" came as the court imposed a blanket publication ban on the legal proceedings, preventing the public from learning of any further evidence in a case of stunning allegations that has captured headlines around the world.
Baseless accusations of "torture" are now an almost mandatory feature of any arrest of a Muslim, anywhere. Regardless of the charges, you can absolutely count on a lawyer using the ploy and getting immediate, widespread media coverage. As always, the response is buried down the page a ways.
Many of the conditions outlined by lawyers are standard practice, said Community Safety and Correctional Services Ministry spokeswoman Julia Noonan.
"All our institutions are lit 24 hours a day," said Noonan, who added the lights are dimmed in the evenings. "For security reasons, we need to ensure that proper supervision is possible."
Twenty minutes of "fresh air and/or exercise" is also standard, and the "standard dimension" solitary cells are expressly built for "one person."
Physical abuse, however, is not tolerated by the ministry, she said.
"All ministry employees are required to adhere to those policies and they're held criminally responsible for any excess use of force."
In other words, bull. The only good thing is eventually people will stop paying attention to claims like this. By the way, the judge in the case has imposed a total publication ban on evidence. I see Rove's hand in this.
They do a lot of harm. As you said, people will stop to listen to false accusations of torture.
And they also won’t pay attention when that happens.
The boy and the wolf…