July 19

The Bush Administration And Mistreatment Of Detainees. Human Rights Watch

United States of America Torture Trackbacks (0)
Getting Away with Torture... [link to full report]

 

Summary
 
Recommendations
 
I. Background: Official Sanction for Crimes against Detainees
 
II. Torture of Detainees in US Counterterrorism Operations
  • The CIA Detention Program
  • Secret Detention Sites
  • The Case of Abu Zubaydah
  • Growth of the CIA Program
  • The CIA Rendition Program
  • Coercive Interrogations by the Military
  • Abuses by Military Interrogators in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Iraq
  • Approving Illegal Techniques for Military Interrogation
  • Migration of the Approved Techniques
 
III. Individual Criminal Responsibility
  • The Illegality of the Underlying Abuses
  • Forms of Liability
  • Waterboarding
  • Interrogation Techniques
  • CIA Secret Detention Program
  • OLC Legal Guidance
  • Duty to Investigate and Provide Redress
  • The Four Key Leaders
  • President George W. Bush
  • Vice President Dick Cheney
  • Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
  • CIA Director George Tenet
  • Other Officials
 
Appendix: Foreign State Proceedings Regarding US Detainee Mistreatment
  • Germany
  • France: Complaint against Rumsfeld
  • Spain: Investigations of US officials
  • The “Bush Six”
  • Investigation into Torture by US officials
  • Diplomatic Intervention by the United States
Acknowledgments and Methodology
September 02

China's Foreign Relations; And Torture Archive: US Abuses Since 1968

China United States of America International relations Torture Trackbacks (0)
China's international behavior : activism, opportunism, and diversification
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG850.pdf

This site provides free access to the full text of a book by Evan S. Medeiros which was published by RAND in 2009. ISBN 978-0-8330-4709-0. The 279 page book critically examines the current nature and future trends of China's involvement in international affairs. This includes coverage of Chinese foreign policy, relations with western nations and international organisations and possible future implications for American foreign policy. There is some coverage of relations with Taiwan and Tibet.

Torture archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/torture_archive/index.htm

The Torture Archive is hosted by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. It provides free online access to an archive of over 83,000 pages of full text declassified US government documents relating to human rights abuses and the use of torture during interrogations by American military and intelligence service personnel. It includes coverage of abuses in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the war against terrorism and counterterrorist policy in general. Materials generally date from1968 onwards. They include letters, memos and other government secret documents. Other features of the site include background texts, timelines, and introductions to the materials. Also offered are discussion guides, bibliographies of further reading and some audio files and transcripts from related documentaries. Copyright information is displayed on the website.
 
From Intute.ac.uk
August 05

UK Complicity In Torture Allegations

United Kingdom Torture Trackbacks (0)

Allegations of UK complicity in torture

This site provides free access to the full text of the report published by the Joint Committee on Human Rights as HL Paper 152 HC 230 in August 2009. The 140 page report analyses allegations that the UK was involved in the torture of alleged terrorist suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. It includes coverage of obligations to prevent torture in international law and specific case allegations including those of Binyam Mohamed, who was released from Guantanamo Bay. Also covered are issues relating to UK government accountability.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200809/jtselect/jtrights/152/152.pdf

From Intute.ac.uk

November 18

Torture And Intelligence In Western Democracies

Europe Western bloc Torture Trackbacks (0)
Torture and intelligence gathering in Western democracies
This site provides access to the full text of a paper by Calder Walton which was published as History and Policy paper 78 in November 2008. The use of torture during interrogation is a controversial aspect of the 'war against terrorism'. This paper provides an interesting historical perspective on the nature, extent and use of the practice. Topics covered include: British intelligence and the use of torture in the Second World War and the use of toruture against 'communist agents during the Cold War'. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-78.html
June 05

Prisoners At GuantáNamo Bay: Interrogators From Brutal Human Rights Abusing Regimes

United States of America Guantanimo Bay prisoners Prisons and prisoners Torture Trackbacks (0)

Report: U.S. Government Allows Security Forces from Brutal Human Rights Abusing Regimes to Threaten Prisoners at Guantánamo
Source: Center for Constitutional Rights

Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) released two reports on the conditions and treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. One report highlights numerous instances of threats and abuse of prisoners at Guantánamo by interrogators from brutal human rights abusing regimes who are given full access by the U.S. The second report demonstrates the deteriorating mental health of the overwhelming majority of Guantánamo prisoners relegated to solitary confinement at the prison.

Foreign Interrogators in Guantánamo Bay recounts interrogations of detainees by security officials from China, Uzbekistan, Libya, Jordan, Tajikistan and Tunisia – all countries that the U.S. State Department has consistently criticized for egregious treatment of detainees during interrogations in their own countries.

+ Foreign Interrogators in Guantanamo Bay (PDF; 167 KB)
+ Solitary Confinement summary (PDF; 149 KB)

May 20

ACLU Describe Charges Of Murder And Torture Of Prisoners In U.S. Custody

Afghanistan United States of America Torture Trackbacks (0)

Documents Obtained By ACLU Describe Charges Of Murder And Torture Of Prisoners In U.S. Custody
Source: American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union obtained documents today from the Department of Defense confirming the military’s use of unlawful interrogation methods on detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan. The documents from the military’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID), obtained as a result of the ACLU’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, include the first on-the-ground reports of torture in Gardez, Afghanistan to be publicly released.

“These documents make it clear that the military was using unlawful interrogation techniques in Afghanistan,” said Amrit Singh, an attorney with the ACLU. “Rather than putting a stop to these systemic abuses, senior officials appear to have turned a blind eye to them.”

Special Operations officers in Gardez admitted to using what are known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) techniques, which for decades American service members experienced as training to prepare for the brutal treatment they might face if captured.

Today’s documents reveal charges that Special Forces beat, burned, and doused eight prisoners with cold water before sending them into freezing weather conditions. One of the eight prisoners, Jamal Naseer, died in U.S. custody in March 2003. In late 2004, the military opened a criminal investigation into charges of torture at Gardez. Despite numerous witness statements describing the evidence of torture, the military’s investigation concluded that the charges of torture were unsupported. It also concluded that Naseer’s death was the result of a “stomach ailment,” even though no autopsy had been conducted in his case. Documents uncovered today also refer to sodomy committed by prison guards; the victims’ identities are redacted.

+ Documents from Department of Defense Released by the ACLU on 4/16/2008
+ Torture Documents Released Under FOIA