Telegraph (with additional material by AFP). 20 January 2002. Cuba camp is 'unacceptable.'
Al Qa'eda prisoners held in Cuba are being subjected to "sensory deprivation" by their American captors, shocking some observers and adding to international concern at their treatment. Pictures released of the men show them blindfolded, tightly shackled and forced to wear face masks, ear covers and gloves, denying them use of key senses. Amnesty International said the pictures were "shocking" and showed the men were being "softened up" for interrogation. Pictures reportedly taken by a US Navy officer and released to the media show a group of kneeling, manacled prisoners. They are wearing dark goggles to blot out the light, ear muffs to keep out sound, bright orange jump suits and mittens. The right-wing Mail on Sunday, which could normally be expected to support the United States, ran the photographs under the headline "Tortured." "They can hear nothing, smell nothing, feel nothing," the middle-market tabloid said, describing the prisoners as being "shackled like wild animals". "Manacled hand and foot, they kneel in submission. Is this how (US president George W.) Bush and (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair defend our civilisation?" The pictures were so shocking they were "certain to intensify the international outrage at the conditions in which they are being kept," the Mail on Sunday said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews featuring photo attachments from US Pentagon
