The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed concern on Thursday over a tough new anti-terrorism law approved by U.S. President George W. Bush this week.

The president of Swiss-run humanitarian body, Jakob Kellenberger, said that there were questions over the law's compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006, signed by President Bush on Tuesday, allows for tough CIA interrogation techniques and military trials for terrorism suspects.

But in an interview posted on the ICRC website, Kellenberger said the law was too vague about which detainees could be covered and did not explicitly exclude the use of evidence extracted by force in trials.

He warned that the legislation could also weaken basic guarantees given under the Geneva Conventions which are supposed to protect everybody from humiliating and degrading treatment.

"Our preliminary reading of the new legislation raises certain concerns and questions," Kellenberger said.

"The very broad definition of who is an "unlawful enemy combatant" and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition on the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples," he added.

The ICRC, guardian of the Geneva Conventions which are accepted by 194 nations, said it was studying the new U.S. law, which it said was very complex and had both positive and negative elements.

Kellenberger said the organization would discuss its concerns with the Bush administration.

President Bush says the new law will enable the U.S. to bring to trial some of those believed to be behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism attacks on the country.

Under the new law, the definition of "enemy combatant" is expanded to include those who provide weapons, money and other support to terrorist groups, which human rights groups say casts the net too wide.

Source: Xinhua