US Senate backs detainee rights

BBC NEWS | Americas | US Senate backs detainee rights:

"US senators have voted overwhelmingly to outlaw cruel or degrading treatment of detainees held in US custody abroad.

The Senate voted 90-9 in favour of the motion, which senators said would lay down rules for troops and officials carrying out interrogations.

Prisoner abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and concern over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay have dogged the US since 2001.

The motion was opposed by the White House, which views it as unnecessary."