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Science Forum Index » Psychology - Psychotherapy Forum » Koochers Criminal Facilitating KOOKS: Newly Unredacted Report Confirms Psychologists Supported Illegal Interrogations In Iraq and Afghanistan (4/30/2008)
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| Linda |
 Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:08 pm |
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http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35111prs20080430.html
Newly Unredacted Report Confirms Psychologists Supported Illegal
Interrogations In Iraq and Afghanistan (4/30/2008)
Documents Obtained By ACLU Also Uncover "Widespread Use" Of Rescinded
Unlawful Interrogation Techniques And Failure Of Medical Personnel To
Report Abuses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT (646) 785-1894 or (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union announced today the
release of newly unredacted documents from the Defense Department's
internal investigations into charges of detainee abuse. Uncensored
documents from the Church Report, obtained as a result of the ACLU's
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, include new details
exposing the role of psychologists in military interrogations. The
documents also uncover new information about the failure of military
medical personnel to report abuses at Abu Ghraib, the military's use
of unlawful interrogation methods subsequent to a directive that was
ostensibly meant to end such practices, and detainee deaths in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The documents reveal that psychologists and medical personnel played
a key role in sustaining prisoner abuse — a clear violation of their
ethical and legal obligations," said Amrit Singh, a staff attorney
with the ACLU. "The documents only underscore the need for an
independent investigation into responsibility for the systemic abuse
of detainees held in U.S. custody abroad."
In 2006, the ACLU received a highly redacted version of the Church
Report, which was commissioned by former Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld as a comprehensive review of military interrogation
operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay based on 187
investigations into detainee abuse that had been closed as of
September 30, 2004. The report did not analyze information relating to
130 abuse cases that remained open as of that date, and issues of
senior official responsibility for detainee abuse were beyond its
mandate. Written by Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, the report skirts
the question of command responsibility for detainee abuse,
euphemistically labeling official failure to issue interrogation
guidelines for Iraq and Afghanistan as a "missed opportunity."
The report states that "analogous to the BSCT in Guantanamo Bay, the
Army has a number of psychologists in operational positions (in both
Afghanistan and Iraq), mostly within Special Operations, where they
provide direct support to military operations. They do not function as
mental health providers, and one of their core missions is to support
interrogations."
The documents also uncover new information about the failure of Army
medics to report the notorious abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib.
According to the report, "enlisted medics witnessed obvious episodes
of detainee abuse apparently without reporting them to superiors." One
episode involved a detainee whose wounded leg was intentionally hit.
Two others involved detainees handcuffed uncomfortably to beds for
prolonged periods, such that one eventually suffered a dislocated
shoulder and another experienced excruciating pain when eventually
forced to stand. Another incident involved a medic who witnessed
pictures of naked detainees in a pyramid but did not report the
episode to superiors.
The unredacted sections of the report provide new evidence confirming
the use of abusive interrogation techniques after they were no longer
authorized. According to the report, "the use of some of the
techniques…continued even until July 2004, despite the fact that many
were retracted by the October 2003 memorandum, and some were
subsequently prohibited by the May 2004 memorandum." The report goes
on to blame dysfunctional command procedures for the military's
failure to follow the law, stating, "the relatively widespread use of
these techniques supports our finding that the policy documents were
not always received or thoroughly understood."
"Four years have passed since the Abu Ghraib photographs were first
published, and yet no senior official has been held responsible for
the abuse and torture of prisoners," said Jameel Jaffer, Director of
the ACLU National Security Project. "Senior officials made torture
into official policy. Accountability is long overdue."
The documents made public today by the ACLU reveal new information on
detainee deaths that were likely the result of abuse. The ACLU
previously obtained autopsy and investigative reports for some of
these deaths:
In November 2003, a detainee at Abu Ghraib in Iraq died with
"compromised respiration." The Church Report states that "medical
personnel may have acted to misrepresent circumstances." See:
action.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/102405/3212.pdf
In November, 2003, a detainee at Forward Operating Base Tiger in Iraq
died of asphyxia during an interrogation. The Church Report states
that "circumstances should have led" medical personnel "to consider
detainee abuse." See: action.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/
102405/3212.pdf
In June 2003, a detainee in Al Nasiriyah, Iraq died of strangulation.
His ribs and neck bone were also broken. According to the Church
Report, the "investigation suggests he was beaten and then dragged by
the neck by a guard." See: action.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/
102405/3164.pdf
The House Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing on May 6 to
investigate the issue of accountability for the authorization of
torture and abuse by high-level officials.
In October 2003, the ACLU — along with the Center for Constitutional
Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and
Veterans for Peace — filed a request under the Freedom of Information
Act for records concerning the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody
abroad. To date, more than 100,000 pages of government documents have
been released in response to the ACLU's FOIA lawsuit.
The newly unredacted documents and the full Church Report are
available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35110res20080430.html
In addition, many of the FOIA documents are also collected and
analyzed in a recently published book by Jaffer and Singh,
Administration of Torture. More information is available online at:
www.aclu.org/administrationoftorture
The documents received in the ACLU's FOIA litigation are online at:
www.aclu.org/torturefoia |
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