America Admits Suspects Died In Interrogations

Independent (UK) ^ | 3-7-2003 | Andrew Gumbel

[blam]

America admits suspects died in interrogations

By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
07 March 2003

American military officials acknowledged yesterday that two prisoners captured in Afghanistan in December had been killed while under interrogation at Bagram air base north of Kabul – reviving concerns that the US is resorting to torture in its treatment of Taliban fighters and suspected al-Qa'ida operatives.

A spokesman for the air base confirmed that the official cause of death of the two men was "homicide", contradicting earlier accounts that one had died of a heart attack and the other from a pulmonary embolism.

The men's death certificates, made public earlier this week, showed that one captive, known only as Dilawar, 22, from the Khost region, died from "blunt force injuries to lower extremities complicating coronary artery disease" while another captive, Mullah Habibullah, 30, suffered from blood clot in the lung that was exacerbated by a "blunt force injury".

US officials previously admitted using "stress and duress" on prisoners including sleep deprivation, denial of medication for battle injuries, forcing them to stand or kneel for hours on end with hoods on, subjecting them to loud noises and sudden flashes of light and engaging in culturally humiliating practices such as having them kicked by female officers.

While the US claims this still constitutes "humane" treatment, human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced it as torture as defined by international treaty. The US has also come under heavy criticism for its reported policy of handing suspects over to countries such as Jordan, Egypt or Morocco, where torture techniques are an established part of the security apparatus. Legally, Human Rights Watch says, there is no distinction between using torture directly and subcontracting it out.

Some American politicians have argued that torture could be justified in this case if it helped prevent terror attacks on US citizens. Jonathan Turley, a prominent law professor at George Washington University, countered that embracing torture would be "suicide for a nation once viewed as the very embodiment of human rights".

Torture is part of a long list of concerns about the Bush administration's respect for international law, after the extrajudicial killing of al-Qa'ida suspects by an unmanned drone in Yemen and the the indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a number of whom have committed or attempted to commit suicide.

President Bush appeared to encourage extra-judicial solutions in his State of the Union address in January when he talked of al-Qa'ida members being arrested or meeting "a different fate". "Let's put it this way," he said in a tone that appalled many, "they are no longer a problem to the United States and our friends and allies."

[mrsmith]

"American military officials acknowledged yesterday that two prisoners captured in Afghanistan in December had been killed while under interrogation at Bagram air base

There is nothing in the article to support the "while under interrogation" claim.

[Thebaddog]

Is this writer a member of the distinguished Gumbel family that spawned Bryant?

[EternalVigilance]

Amazing how they can blow 2 isolated incidents...ones for which we don't know the whole story...into smearing the Bush Administration with a policy of torturing prisoners.

[Slings and Arrows]

Shocking. A tragedy. A disgrace.

So, anything good on TV?

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

OK ............ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[EternalVigilance]

Oh, and I don't care how many of the 'detainees' at Gitmo take the cowardly exit from life. Give them the rope if they want it.

[jocko12]

ONLY TWO!!!!

[zip]

...reviving concerns that the US is resorting to torture in its treatment of Taliban fighters and suspected al-Qa'ida operatives.

If it saves ONE American life, then it is worth it. What do these namby-pamby wimps expect? We are fighting for our lives.

[LurkedLongEnough]

Question to the press: Why limit the retrospective reporting to December at this point? Why not go back to the Revolutionary War while you're at it... Oh, I'm beginning to see WHY this is being reported NOW.

[aruanan]

While the US claims this still constitutes "humane" treatment, human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced it as torture as defined by international treaty.

Let's have AI and HRW go to Iraq and North Korea; you know, somewhere where their dedication to what they say they believe in actually causes them to run a little personal risk and show how much they really care.

[Spruce]

Objective Journalism. Not.

[JamminJAY]

Next.

Jammer

[TankerKC]

spokesman for the air base confirmed that the official cause of death of the two men was "homicide", contradicting earlier accounts that one had died of a heart attack and the other from a pulmonary embolism.

Does this "spokesman" have a name? Total BS.

[South40]

Were the 3000 that died on 9/11 treated humanely?

Will those who will fall victim to these terrorists thugs in the future be treated humanely?

We've got a lot more to kill before the score is even.

[A_perfect_lady]

They still suffered less than they would if I were interrogating them.

[Dog Gone]

The Independent is anything but.

It's to the left of the Guardian, which is a sucky liberal paper.

Two prisoners died of their injuries, probably incurred before capture or during it, and suddenly this becomes proof of torture to death. Amazing that we would admit it, eh?

[martin_fierro]

This Gumbel doesn't appear to be related to that Gumble.

But THIS Gumble is.

[Rose in RoseBear]

I wanna talk to those "female officers" that got to kick 'em. Does the US military have female MPs just for this purpose?

[VRWC For Truth]

An eye for an eye. Live by terror, die by terror. Works for me.