No More Abu Ghraibs

The latest action alert from PHR's Campaign Against Torture:

Dear Benjamin,

April 28 will be the third anniversary of the disclosure of the detainee abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib after the US invasion of Iraq. Over the last three years there has been a continuous outcry against the Administration's interrogation policies, including among the military and intelligence communities. The Department of Defense (DoD) has developed clearer guidelines prohibiting most abusive practices but it still continues to involve mental health professionals in the interrogation of detainees, making them active members of the "Behavioral Science Consultation Teams" (BSCTs). Ambiguities in the DoD guidelines and weaker standards for the CIA leave room for continued abuse and not enough accountability.

Consider the following:

• Medics, physicians and psychologists played direct roles in the severe abuse of Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged "20th 9/11 hijacker" and others.
• The public record now shows that the abusive interrogation techniques used against Mohammad al-Qahtani and many others at multiple sites may have originated with the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) military training program at Fort Bragg, NC.
• Military psychologists---senior officers in SERE---helped write guidelines that allow psychologists to continue participating in interrogations.

In the three years since the Abu Ghraib scandal, the evidence supporting PHR's strong advocacy for a ban on all health professional participation in interrogations has increased substantially. Yet much more needs to be known about what has happened in the past and what continues to occur.

Please join PHR’s Campaign Against Torture in urging Congress to fully investigate the techniques used in CIA and Department of Defense interrogations, those who authorized them, and the involvement of health professionals in these abusive practices.

Sincerely,

Len Rubenstein
Executive Director
Physicians for Human Rights