Study: Broader Torture Definitions Needed

Prisoners Who Endure Poor Treatment Suffer Same Distress As Tortured Captives

(AP)  Prisoners who endure poor or degrading treatment suffer much of the same long-term psychological distress as do captives who are tortured, suggests a study published Monday.

Experts point to human rights abuses by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, and say the findings underscore the need for a broader definition of torture.

"What is the basis for the distinction between torture and other cruel and degrading treatment? Science should inform this debate," the study's lead author, Metin Basoglu of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The study was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Steve H. Miles of the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics said the findings "show that the severity of long-lasting adverse mental effects is unrelated to whether the torture or degrading treatment is physical or psychological."

"The wrongness of these inflicted harms is compounded by the fact that most abused prisoners, including those in the present war on terror, are innocent or ignorant of terrorist activities," said Miles, who was not involved in the study.

The Bush administration has said the United States uses legal interrogation techniques — not torture — to gain information that could head off terror attacks. It insists the United States complies with the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Yet Washington's definition of torture, as interpreted by the Justice Department after reports surfaced of American abuses in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, is fairly narrow.

It excludes mental pain and suffering created by acts that do not cause severe physical pain, such as blindfolding, hooding, forced nudity, isolation and deprivation of sleep or light, the researchers said, citing a Dec. 30, 2004, Justice Department memo. The document also contends that for an act to be considered torture, there must be proof that it inflicts "prolonged mental harm."

"The implications of such a narrow definition of torture have raised serious concerns in the human rights community," said the study. "These findings suggest that physical pain per se is not the most important determinant of traumatic stress in survivors of torture."

The study involved interviews with 279 victims who suffered ill treatment and torture while imprisoned in the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia.

The researchers said they found that aggressive interrogation techniques, humiliating treatment, verbal abuse, threats against a captive's family and being forced to watch an acquaintance being tortured produced much of the same long-term mental trauma as physical torture.

"Sham executions, witnessing torture of close ones, threats of rape, fondling of genitals and isolation were associated with at least as much if not more distress than some of the physical torture stressors," they wrote.

Such experiences were just as likely as physical torture to lead to depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, said the study.

"Ill treatment during captivity ... does not seem to be substantially different from physical torture in terms of the severity of mental suffering they cause," it concluded. "These procedures do amount to torture, thereby lending support to their prohibition by international law."

Shukrije Gashi, a pro-independence activist in Kosovo, was jailed by Yugoslav authorities in 1983 and spent nearly two years as a political prisoner. Strictly speaking, she wasn't tortured, but 2½ decades later it still feels that way, she says.

Gashi was confined to a cramped, unventilated cell and fed small rations of often-rotten food. Allowed to shower just once a month, she endured frequent beatings and verbal abuse.

Today, she still trembles whenever she sees the police. Her ordeal, she says, is "a spiritual burden that stays with you forever."

Gashi copes by writing poetry and running a center for conflict management.

But 24 years later, she still can't erase the indelible memories of what she endured. "The treatment in prison was horrific," she said. "I remain psychologically burdened. Memories of the violence follow me like a shadow."

[montraville]

I think we all have to reflect that the system our forefathers set up is really amazing and beautiful. I think since the baby boomers got older, and realized that getting older stinks, they've been angry and didn't had a way to express that anger.

When things started going haywire in this decade, all of a sudden they had a target.

Since the baby boomers never matured (and frankly the young people today are more mature then their parents ever were) they can't handle dealing with adult responsiblities, like living up to the standards our forefathers established. This pro-torture agenda is really just another selfish anti-authority rant, like in the 70s.

[montraville]

"We're the good guys compared to the rest. If we were fighting an enemy with a code of conduct and obeying the rules of war, it would be easy to dispense with Draconian measures."


Except that the draconian measures don't work anyway.

Throwing away the scabbard telegraphs to the watching world that these people have hurt us very badly and we need revenge. Did we need revenge against the Nazis, Japanese, Koreans, or Vietnamese? No.

When we express our rage in that extraordinary and unprecedented way, which contradicts our basic principles, the rest of the world is going to infer that we've been hurt in some extraordinary and unprecedented way, that we're vulnerable to these people in some way we weren't vulnerable to our other enemies.

The world will get a mistaken impression of us.

We're not especially vulnerable to them, and when we act like we are, we look WEAK.

By all means punish the people who perpetrated the 9-11 attacks, but don't go around trumpeting to the world that we were permanently injured by them. We weren't.

[anopinion1]

i would assume we torture them to get them to talk right?????
so if they would just talk they can end the torture at any time????? c-mon people we arent smashing fingers and toes one by one with a sledge hammer to get answers...

and about our own prisons. if we just legalize most of the drugs people are in prison for, then all we have left is the real felans....and we should treat them like ***, make them think about why they raped or killed or robbed the people they did...feed them enough just to barely make it...show them sunlight maybe once a week.

[us_infidel]

We're the good guys compared to the rest. If we were fighting an enemy with a code of conduct and obeying the rules of war, it would be easy to dispense with Draconian measures. But we're not. We're fighting a fanatical bunch of cowards who hide in the shadows and commit atrocities against civilians and our troops.

And one of ours is worth 100,000 of theirs, so I say pull out he dental drills and observe polarity on the electrodes you connect them up to.

[dallison7]

THE WORLD NOW HAS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH!!

WHAT HAVE WE BECOME??

GOD HELP US!!

[randalds]

I wonder how the current administration will hold up to torture. I wonder how the Washington lifers who so blithely ordered these tortures will react when their turn comes. For that priceless picture, it is worth leaving torture legal for a while. These things have a way of working themselves out. I can imagine their whimpering, screaming, defecating, and other unmanly actions. It will be an image the world needs to see. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.

Then afterwards we can make torture illegal, but not just yet. There are so many white, fat, sickly men who are ripe for the cells at Gitmo.

Posted by SharnCedar at 11:04 PM : Mar 05, 2007

I don't know how they'd hold up (though I suspect not well) but I'd give much to see it in person when/if it does happen to the likes of Bush, Cheney and gutless cowards of their ilk. Put it on TV! On pay-per-view! they're so rightfully hated in this world the money raised would run into the billions.

[randalds]

I realize that the "we should do whatever we want and screw our values" mob is still small, but they amaze me nonetheless.

Posted by DefndLiberty at 09:06 PM : Mar 05, 2007

I agree. Our values are what we're supposed to be fighting for or at least that's what the phony patriots in the White House say. Yet they want us to give up our freedom to save our freedom. To give up our values to save our values. It doesn't make sense. As for me as I've said in the past, I'd rather face down a thousand 9-11's then surrender one right or one value that makes us Americans to the phonies in this administration. I don't know who they think they speak for, but they don't speak for real Americans. THEY are not real Americans.

[sharncedar]

I am reminded of Robbespiere, the French tyrant who sent so many to the gullotine, and when his turn came he was described as losing his senses and body control with fear. When he had Danton killed, Danton died like a hero, proud and defiant. When Robbespiere at last was taken in his own snare, he cowed, whimpered, acted unmanly, white like a ghost with fear, body fluids upon himself.

I wonder how the current administration will hold up to torture. I wonder how the Washington lifers who so blithely ordered these tortures will react when their turn comes. For that priceless picture, it is worth leaving torture legal for a while. These things have a way of working themselves out. I can imagine their whimpering, screaming, defecating, and other unmanly actions. It will be an image the world needs to see. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.

Then afterwards we can make torture illegal, but not just yet. There are so many white, fat, sickly men who are ripe for the cells at Gitmo.

[book54552134]

Your post is right on point on just about every issue you addressed.
However, I would add that there is another group who would sacrifice our democratic values but for an entirely different reason you gave -
they're blind loyalty to a political party (which includes Dubya) for reasons that involve mostly greed.
There are a few million (out a total population of 300,000,000) who have made huge windfalls as the result of the policies (tax & war) of this Administration, & they will support all other decisions of this Administration as well, in order to help to prop up those who they perceive (the GOP) as having made that possible & to maintain that windfall for as long as possible.
These people have a lot of time & money at their disposal, for that purpose.

[montraville]

"Very shortsighted, very dangerous remark."

(...only if taken out of context, which may not have been clear, sorry about that. I oppose torture for either coercive or punishment reasons, or any reason.)