Afghanistan: U.S. troops tortured prisoners

From PWW
Author: W. T. Whitney Jr.

Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union in April under the Freedom of Information Act — accessible on its web site — confirm the U.S. military’s use of unlawful interrogation methods on detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan.

The ACLU news release charges that early during the U.S. occupation there “special Forces beat, burned, and doused eight prisoners with cold water before sending them into freezing weather conditions.” One died. Sodomy is also alleged.

Criminal investigation undertaken by the military in late 2004 absolved the alleged perpetrators. Rather than ending “systemic abuses, senior officials appear to have turned a blind eye to them,” declared ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh.