Newly Released Documents Reveal Widespread Torture in Pentagon-Run Prisons Abroad

Interview with Reed Brody, special counsel with Human Rights Watch, conducted by Scott Harris

In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other human rights groups, the government was forced to release thousands of pages of documents that establish the abuse of detainees held in Pentagon-run prisons abroad was much more widespread than first admitted after news of the Abu Ghraib scandal broke last Spring.

The documents contain reports by FBI agents who describe techniques they saw systematically used by U.S. officials to abuse prisoners that included isolation, physical and sensory assault. Accounts describe the use of stress positions, dogs to intimidate detainees and exposure to extreme hot and cold temperatures. In one instance, a prisoner was seen shrouded by an Israeli flag while a strobe light flashed and loud music was blared into his cell.

Some of the newly released documents allege that inhumane interrogation methods employed against prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and at the U.S. Guantanamo Naval base were authorized by President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld -- a charge that the White House denies. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Reed Brody, special counsel with Human Rights Watch, who assesses the importance of these documents in understanding the use of torture in U.S. military prisons and who should be held accountable.

Contact Human Rights Watch by calling (212) 290-4700 or visit their website at www.hrw.org

Related links:


Center for Constitutional Rights www.ccr-ny.org American Civil Liberties Union at www.aclu.org

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