[Excerpt: Separately on Monday, a federal judge in New York said he would deny a government request to delay a review of whether certain CIA internal files related to Iraq should be made public.....Judge Alvin Hellerstein's comments marked a victory for the ACLU and other groups seeking information about the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and in Iraq.] _http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/374BA48D-F130-4A34-B560-E4DF5B161ADA.h tm_ (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/374BA48D-F130-4A34-B560-E4DF5B161ADA.htm) Guantanamo Bay torture scandal deepens Wednesday 22 December 2004, 1:11 Makka Time, 22:11 GMT A civil liberties group has released information suggesting the US president George Bush approved abusive interrogation methods by military officials at Guantanamo Bay. Releasing e-mails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the American Civil Liberties Union said on Monday that one detainee was wrapped in an Israeli flag and some were shackled hand and foot in foetal positions for 18 to 24 hours, forcing them to soil themselves. The ACLU said e-mails suggested "inhumane interrogation methods" were approved by President George Bush a charge the White House vigorously denied. The military operation at Guantanamo Bay has come under increased scrutiny as former prisoners have alleged they were tortured. The Pentagon maintains it runs a humane operation there and investigates all allegations of abuse. E-mail evidence The e-mails released by the ACLU include a report by an FBI agent who witnessed "numerous physical abuse incidents of Iraqi civilian detainees" including choking, beatings and placing lighted cigarettes inside ears. One detainee, according to an e-mail report, had been left in a room at near 100 degrees and had pulled out his hair during the night. One detainee was interrogated while wrapped in an Israeli flag and bombarded with loud music and strobe lights, according to an FBI agent's account contained in an e-mail posted on the ACLU Web site. According to the e-mails, FBI officials disapproved of the practice of military interrogators posing as federal agents. Posing as FBI agents is not on a list of interrogation methods approved by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The Pentagon is investigating the allegations. The White House denied a suggestion in an FBI e-mail dated 22 May 2004, that Bush personally signed off on certain interrogation techniques in an executive order. Interrogation techniques criticised The ACLU's disclosures primarily comprise of e-mails between FBI officials whose names the government removed before releasing them. In several, the writers describe and criticise various interrogation techniques they say they witnessed at Guantanamo. While military interrogators are performing much of the questioning at Guantanamo, the FBI and CIA also have operations there. Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said the FBI documents continue to show the US government was "torturing individuals in some instances" and demonstrates a major rift between FBI agents and the military over proper interrogation techniques. "There was real concern within our law enforcement community about whether we are torturing individuals," Romero said. Prisoner wrongly detained In other developments, a military review found a second Guantanamo prisoner wrongly classified as an enemy combatant, and he will be released soon to his home country, Navy Secretary Gordon England said on Monday. The newest prisoner to face release would be the second freed under a military process instituted after the US Supreme Court ruled last summer that prisoners at Guantanamo could challenge their detentions through the US court system. To bolster its case for each of the prisoners against any such challenge, the Pentagon set up tribunals to review circumstances of each man's capture to determine whether they are properly held. Of the roughly 200 detainees already released, at least a dozen have returned to the battlefield. More than 300 additional cases are still being reviewed. Separately on Monday, a federal judge in New York said he would deny a government request to delay a review of whether certain CIA internal files related to Iraq should be made public. Judge Alvin Hellerstein's comments marked a victory for the ACLU and other groups seeking information about the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and in Iraq. Agencies enditem
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
