Damning torture files revealed

Sydney Morning Herald | January 1 2006

LONDON: A former British ambassador has risked prosecution under the Official Secrets Act by publishing documents on the internet allegedly showing his government routinely received counter-terrorism information extracted by torture.

Craig Murray, recalled from his post in Uzbekistan after falling out with the Foreign Office, has released sensitive internal papers that he was told must be removed from his forthcoming book on his time in the Central Asian republic.

He said the documents show Britain was aware it was receiving information obtained by the Uzbek authorities through torture. Rather than submit to the gagging order, Mr Murray decided to publish the material.

One document contains several telegrams he sent to London between 2002 and 2004, warning that the information being passed on by the Uzbek security services was "torture-tainted". He also challenged MI6 claims that the information was nonetheless "useful". The second document is a Foreign Office legal opinion which argues that the use by intelligence services of information extracted through torture is not a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.

Get Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson's books, ALL Alex's documentary films, films by other authors, audio interviews and special reports. Sign up at Prison Planet.tv - CLICK HERE.