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Documents Obtained By ACLU Also Uncover "Widespread Use" Of Rescinded Unlawful Interrogation Techniques And Failure Of Medical Personnel To Report Abuses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
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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."
more:
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35111prs20080430.htmlACLU: Pentagon documents highlight interrogation methods By ADAM GOLDMAN
Associated Press Writer
The military continued to use abusive interrogation methods on detainees after a 2003 directive meant to end such practices, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday after reviewing newly released documents.
The Department of Defense documents shed light on the use of psychologists in military interrogations and the failure of medical workers to report abuse of detainees, the ACLU said.
"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," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said.
A Pentagon spokesman said medical workers understood the responsibility to provide humane medical care to detainees.
The ACLU obtained the documents - newly unredacted data from what is known as the Church Report - in connection with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in 2004. The government did not release details on the interrogation methods that continued to be used after 2003, she said.
more:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004384375_apdetaineeabusereport.html?syndication=rss