Six human-rights organizations have compiled a list of 39 people they think have been secretly imprisoned by the United States, and the groups are taking action to put an end to such practices, reports The News York Times.

The groups include Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University, and Human Rights Watch. There are also two British groups: Reprieve and Cageprisoners.

Three of the groups have filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act to learn the whereabouts of those imprisoned. Says Meg Satterthwaite, of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University, “Enforced disappearances are illegal, regardless of who carries them out.”

The Bush administration says secret detentions are essential to combating terrorism and are in line with the law. Paul Gimigliano, a Central Intelligence Agency spokesman, says, “The plain truth is that we act in strict accord with American law.” He says the agency’s practices “have been very effective in disrupting plots and saving lives.”

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