Torture
Here are some excerpts of a report by Physicians for Human Rights. Their original report is free online and has many references and footnotes. For reading ease, internal citations have been omitted.
"The use of psychological torture followed directly from decisions by the civilian leadership as well as high ranking military officers, including those in the Executive branch, and their support of decisions to 'take the gloves off' in interrogations and 'break' prisoners by employing techniques of psychological torture including sensory deprivation, isolation, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, the use of military working dogs to instill fear, cultural and sexual humiliation, mock executions, and the threat of violence or death toward detainees or their loved ones."
...
"The use of the psychologically abusive interrogation methods is immoral and is illegal under the Geneva Conventions and other sources of international law to which the United States is a party, civil domestic law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. US courts, international treaty bodies, UN special rapporteurs on torture, and the US State Department have all identified these techniques as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment."
...
"Combination of Techniques
The evidence points to a widespread and systematic application of these techniques, often in combination. According to the Fay report, a Criminal Investigation Command investigation found that, 'from December 2002, interrogators in Afghanistan were removing clothing, isolating people for long periods of time, using stress positions, exploiting fear of dogs and implementing sleep and light deprivation.' Detainees reported that at Guantánamo in late 2002, they observed techniques such as as short-shackling, loud music playing in interrogation, forced shaving of beards and hair, putting people in cells naked, taking away people’s comfort items, sleep deprivation, and the use of cold air. Other detainees report being subjected to a range of psychologically abusive interrogation techniques at various locations in Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004. In Iraq in 2003, the ICRC found numerous forms of illtreatment, including threats, insults, verbal abuse, hooding, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, and sexual humiliation, being used at various detention facilities. Other reports detail a similar combination of techniques used on detainees in Iraq in 2004.
A source familiar with conditions at Guantánamo in 2004 told PHR that US personnel there had devised a system to break people through a combination of humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, and use of forced positions. This was confirmed by an internal FBI e-mail that documented an incident observed by an agent at Guantánamo during February 2004. The agent observed a detainee who was short shackled, in a room with the temperature significantly lowered, and subjected to strobe lights and possibly loud music. The detainee was left in this condition for 12 hours, during which time he was not allowed to eat, pray or use the bathroom."
...
"The Executive Branch must end and prohibit the use of psychological torture, withdraw legal opinions that permit psychological torture and replace them with an interpretation faithful to the federal criminal anti-torture statute, publicly disclose interrogation rules, hold perpetrators accountable, rehabilitate and compensate victims of torture, permit ongoing monitoring, and promote ethical practice by military medical personnel. The US Congress must establish an independent commission to investigate, carry out its oversight responsibilities, and enact appropriate legislation. Given the Administration’s refusal to abide by law, its continued resistance to disclosure of its activities or its rules, a truly independent investigation and means of accountability is required."
Source: Borchelt, G. (2005). Break them down: Systematic use of psychological torture by US forces. Cambridge: Physicians for Human Rights.
"The use of psychological torture followed directly from decisions by the civilian leadership as well as high ranking military officers, including those in the Executive branch, and their support of decisions to 'take the gloves off' in interrogations and 'break' prisoners by employing techniques of psychological torture including sensory deprivation, isolation, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, the use of military working dogs to instill fear, cultural and sexual humiliation, mock executions, and the threat of violence or death toward detainees or their loved ones."
...
"The use of the psychologically abusive interrogation methods is immoral and is illegal under the Geneva Conventions and other sources of international law to which the United States is a party, civil domestic law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. US courts, international treaty bodies, UN special rapporteurs on torture, and the US State Department have all identified these techniques as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment."
...
"Combination of Techniques
The evidence points to a widespread and systematic application of these techniques, often in combination. According to the Fay report, a Criminal Investigation Command investigation found that, 'from December 2002, interrogators in Afghanistan were removing clothing, isolating people for long periods of time, using stress positions, exploiting fear of dogs and implementing sleep and light deprivation.' Detainees reported that at Guantánamo in late 2002, they observed techniques such as as short-shackling, loud music playing in interrogation, forced shaving of beards and hair, putting people in cells naked, taking away people’s comfort items, sleep deprivation, and the use of cold air. Other detainees report being subjected to a range of psychologically abusive interrogation techniques at various locations in Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004. In Iraq in 2003, the ICRC found numerous forms of illtreatment, including threats, insults, verbal abuse, hooding, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, and sexual humiliation, being used at various detention facilities. Other reports detail a similar combination of techniques used on detainees in Iraq in 2004.
A source familiar with conditions at Guantánamo in 2004 told PHR that US personnel there had devised a system to break people through a combination of humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, and use of forced positions. This was confirmed by an internal FBI e-mail that documented an incident observed by an agent at Guantánamo during February 2004. The agent observed a detainee who was short shackled, in a room with the temperature significantly lowered, and subjected to strobe lights and possibly loud music. The detainee was left in this condition for 12 hours, during which time he was not allowed to eat, pray or use the bathroom."
...
"The Executive Branch must end and prohibit the use of psychological torture, withdraw legal opinions that permit psychological torture and replace them with an interpretation faithful to the federal criminal anti-torture statute, publicly disclose interrogation rules, hold perpetrators accountable, rehabilitate and compensate victims of torture, permit ongoing monitoring, and promote ethical practice by military medical personnel. The US Congress must establish an independent commission to investigate, carry out its oversight responsibilities, and enact appropriate legislation. Given the Administration’s refusal to abide by law, its continued resistance to disclosure of its activities or its rules, a truly independent investigation and means of accountability is required."
Source: Borchelt, G. (2005). Break them down: Systematic use of psychological torture by US forces. Cambridge: Physicians for Human Rights.
posted by a librarian at 9:04 AM
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