American and Britons both want basic due process rights for accused terrorists

[Sauron]

Rawstory:

A recent survey showed that 73% of Americans support basic due process rights for terror suspects, RAW STORY has learned.

The Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland surveyed 1,059 Americans, and conducted similar polls in Great Britain, Germany, Poland and India. The poll found that on a bipartisan basis, pluralities of Americans believed that individuals suspected of involvement in terror plots should be guaranteed a set of due process protections such as requesting and receiving a hearing; notification of their home government and families of their capture and location; monitoring of their treatment by the Red Cross or another international organization; and freedom from torture.

The poll also found that a clear majority of Americans, 57%, were against the Bush administration's practice of extraordinary rendition.

However, some partisan divisions were evident in the study. For instance, while 72% of self-identified Democrats opposed extraordinary rendition, only 54% of Republicans disagreed with the Bush administration practice of transferring detainees for interrogation purposes to countries where they might face torture.. Additionally, only 50% of Republicans thought it was wrong to threaten terrorism detainees with torture, while 67% of Democrats opposed the practice.