Rights Groups Pressure US

Six prominent human rights groups want the US to disclose the whereabouts of 39 terrorism suspects, or "ghost prisoners," believed to have been in government custody. The organizations released a report today charging that children as young as 7 have been detained, invoking the loaded term "disappeared," and urging the US to abandon the use of secret prisons.

In response, the CIA said it “does not conduct or condone torture” and acts in “strict accord with American law.” Amnesty International and two of the other five organizations have filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act to force release of information about the prisoners, only three of whom the US has acknowledged having in custody. (More War on Terror stories.)