After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.
—Maj. General Antonio M. Taguba (USA-Ret.), preface to Broken Laws, Broken Lives
REPORT: Broken Laws, Broken Lives shows the human consequences of harsh and unlawful US interrogation practices. This landmark report reveals the excruciating pain and continued suffering of men who, never charged with any crime, endured torture at US detention facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay. Based on
internationally accepted standards for clinical assessment of torture claims, the report documents practices used to bring about long-lasting pain, terror, humiliation, and shame for months on end. MORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS: All 11 former detainees reported being subjected to: Stress positions, including being suspended for hours by the arms or tightly shackled for days.Prolonged isolation and hooding or blindfolding, a form of sensory deprivation. Extreme heat or cold. Threats against themselves, their families or friends from interrogators or guards. Ten said they were forced to be naked, some for days or weeks. Nine said they were subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation. At least six said they were threatened with military working dogs, often while naked. Four reported being sodomized, subjected to anal probing, or threatened with rape. MORE
THE AUTHORS: Physicians for Human Rights mobilizes health professionals to advance health, dignity, and justice and promotes the right to health for all. Harnessing the specialized skills, rigor, and passion of doctors, nurses, public health specialists, and scientists, PHR investigates human rights abuses and works to stop them. MORE
RELATED: Seymour Hersh’s New Yorker Profile of Major General Antonio Taguba
WARNING: Graphic Images After The Jump