UN expert asks US to disclose Bin Laden raid facts

An independent investigator on extrajudicial killings has called on the United States to reveal more details

Published May 6, 2011 12:05PM (EDT)

Pakistani security officers stand guard near the perimeter of the compound of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 4, 2011.  Many of the residents of Abbottabad seem to be confused and suspicious about the killing of Osama bin Laden, which took place in their midst before dawn on Monday, even as the U.S. White House has struggled to communicate its account of the audacious raid that killed Osama bin Laden for both a jubilant American public and a skeptical Muslim world. (AP Photo/Aqeel Ahmed) (AP)
Pakistani security officers stand guard near the perimeter of the compound of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Many of the residents of Abbottabad seem to be confused and suspicious about the killing of Osama bin Laden, which took place in their midst before dawn on Monday, even as the U.S. White House has struggled to communicate its account of the audacious raid that killed Osama bin Laden for both a jubilant American public and a skeptical Muslim world. (AP Photo/Aqeel Ahmed) (AP)

The U.N.'s independent investigator on extrajudicial killings has called on the United States to reveal more details of the raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistan hideaway to allow experts to assess the legality of his killing.

South African law professor Christof Heyns said in a statement Friday that Washington "should disclose the supporting facts to allow an assessment in terms of international human rights law standards."

Heyns says "it will be particularly important to know if the planning of the mission allowed an effort to capture Bin Laden."

His statement echoed similar appeals from other U.N. officials, human rights groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

U.S. officials say the raid is legal under U.S. and international law.

 


By Associated Press

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Osama Bin Laden United Nations