Abu Ghraib Torture Was "Like Nothing"
(AP Photo/Vicki Smith)
"Compared to what they do to us, that's like nothing," England says in the BBC video.
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August 13, 2009 11:48 AM Five years after the infamous Abu Ghraib torture photos came to light, Lynndie England says the government's "softening up tactics" are acceptable ways to get information from prisoners.
"Compared to what they do to us, that's like nothing," England says in the BBC video.
"Compared to what they do to us, that's like nothing," England says in the BBC video.
August 12, 2009 11:18 AM 
Two military retirees and psychologists with "no relevant scholarship" made millions of dollars as the driving force behind the CIA's controversial interrogation program ultimately terminated under the Obama administration, according to a New York Times report Wednesday.
Beginning in 2002, the CIA contracted Dr. Jim Mitchell and Dr. Bruce Jessen to devise an interrogation strategy for suspected al Qaeda operatives that included waterboarding, a technique later characterized as torture.
The ripple effects of the program are still being felt months after it was cancelled by the White House, as Attorney General Eric J. Holder Jr. weighs the pursuit a criminal investigation. He's expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. The CIA is also set to release a 2004 report on the program by the agency's inspector general, according to the Times.
Report: Torture Program Architects Made Millions
(CBS)
Beginning in 2002, the CIA contracted Dr. Jim Mitchell and Dr. Bruce Jessen to devise an interrogation strategy for suspected al Qaeda operatives that included waterboarding, a technique later characterized as torture.
The ripple effects of the program are still being felt months after it was cancelled by the White House, as Attorney General Eric J. Holder Jr. weighs the pursuit a criminal investigation. He's expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. The CIA is also set to release a 2004 report on the program by the agency's inspector general, according to the Times.
June 24, 2009 3:21 AM 
Twenty-five former prisoners at the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan have told the British Broadcasting Corp. they were abused and neglected while in custody.
The BBC investigation interviewed 27 former terror detainees across Afghanistan who were detained and then released without charge from the Bagram Air Base. All but two claimed abuse.
All but two of the former prisoners, held at Bagram between 2002 and 2008, alleged abuse and neglect. Many claimed they were subjected to beatings, stress positions, over-exposure to heat or cold, loud noise, being forced to remove clothes in front of female soldiers, sleep deprivation and threats with dogs. Four said their lives were threatened at gunpoint during interrogations.
"They did things that you would not do against animals let alone to humans," one former inmate told the network.
Afghan Detainees Allege U.S. Prison Abuse
(CBS/AP)
The BBC investigation interviewed 27 former terror detainees across Afghanistan who were detained and then released without charge from the Bagram Air Base. All but two claimed abuse.
All but two of the former prisoners, held at Bagram between 2002 and 2008, alleged abuse and neglect. Many claimed they were subjected to beatings, stress positions, over-exposure to heat or cold, loud noise, being forced to remove clothes in front of female soldiers, sleep deprivation and threats with dogs. Four said their lives were threatened at gunpoint during interrogations.
"They did things that you would not do against animals let alone to humans," one former inmate told the network.
May 4, 2009 3:55 PM 
A disturbing video that aired last month on ABC News depicting what appears to be the torture of an Afghan grain farmer by a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family may represent just one of many instances of torture involving Sheik Issa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, a brother of the crown prince.
The ABC report on the video is here. It shows a man identified as Sheik Issa "mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails." A man in a United Arab Emirates police uniform assists with the torture. The victim – reportedly an Afghan grain dealer – also has salt poured on his wounds and is run over with a Mercedes SUV.
In parts of the tape not aired, Sheik Issa reportedly pours lighter fuel on the victim's testicles and lights them on fire and inserts a cattle prod into the victim's anus.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, one of the world's leading exporters of oil. The Nahayan's are its ruling family. The tape was reportedly made by the brother of Bassam Nabulsi, an American businessman and former partner of Sheik Issa who is now engaged in a lawsuit against him, at the request of the Sheik.
After the report aired, the UAE government said it would investigate the incident, with the Abu Dhabi Justice Department vowing to "conduct a comprehensive review of the matter immediately and make its findings public."
But the tape might just be the first piece of evidence in a wider scandal. The Guardian reported on Sunday that the lawyer for Nabulsi, Sheik Issa's former partner, claims to have "more than two hours of video footage showing Sheikh Issa's involvement in the torture of more than 25 people." According to the newspaper, police are believed to be seen participating in the attacks and some of the victims are thought to be Sudanese immigrants.
Torture Scandal In Abu Dhabi May Grow
(uaetorture.com)
The ABC report on the video is here. It shows a man identified as Sheik Issa "mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails." A man in a United Arab Emirates police uniform assists with the torture. The victim – reportedly an Afghan grain dealer – also has salt poured on his wounds and is run over with a Mercedes SUV.
In parts of the tape not aired, Sheik Issa reportedly pours lighter fuel on the victim's testicles and lights them on fire and inserts a cattle prod into the victim's anus.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, one of the world's leading exporters of oil. The Nahayan's are its ruling family. The tape was reportedly made by the brother of Bassam Nabulsi, an American businessman and former partner of Sheik Issa who is now engaged in a lawsuit against him, at the request of the Sheik.
(uaetorture.com)
But the tape might just be the first piece of evidence in a wider scandal. The Guardian reported on Sunday that the lawyer for Nabulsi, Sheik Issa's former partner, claims to have "more than two hours of video footage showing Sheikh Issa's involvement in the torture of more than 25 people." According to the newspaper, police are believed to be seen participating in the attacks and some of the victims are thought to be Sudanese immigrants.
February 23, 2009 10:22 AM 
After four years in Guantanamo, and nearly seven years in the custody of the U.S., or one of its allies, a former British resident walked down the steps of an executive jet at a U.K. airbase.
Binyam Mohamed’s return to the U.K. may prove to be deeply embarrassing, for both the British and American governments. Mohamed claims he was brutally tortured in a covert Moroccan prison run by the CIA, and that British intelligence agents were complicit in his torture.
Gitmo Detainee Free After 7 Years
(AP Photo/Lewis Whyld/PA Wire)
Binyam Mohamed’s return to the U.K. may prove to be deeply embarrassing, for both the British and American governments. Mohamed claims he was brutally tortured in a covert Moroccan prison run by the CIA, and that British intelligence agents were complicit in his torture.
