House calls for Pentagon probe of alleged torture in Yemen

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has voted to require Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to determine whether U.S. military or intelligence personnel violated the law in interrogations of detainees in Yemen.

By voice vote, the House on Thursday adopted the measure as part of the 2019 defence authorization bill. The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat of California.

It’s unclear whether the measure will be included in the final defence bill. There is no equivalent provision in the Senate’s version of the bill.

The Associated Press last year reported that hundreds of men swept up in the hunt for al-Qaida militants have disappeared into a secret network of prisons in southern Yemen. It reported that American officials acknowledged that U.S. forces have been involved in interrogations of detainees in Yemen but denied any participation in or knowledge of human rights abuses.