The New York Times (Nov 30): Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo

[Jack Rabbit]

From The New York Times
Dated Tuesday November 30

Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo
By Neil A. Lewis

The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

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The finding that the handling of prisoners detained and interrogated at Guantánamo amounted to torture came after a visit by a Red Cross inspection team that spent most of last June in Guantánamo.

The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called "a flagrant violation of medical ethics."

Doctors and medical personnel conveyed information about prisoners' mental health and vulnerabilities to interrogators, the report said, sometimes directly, but usually through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T. The team, known informally as Biscuit, is composed of psychologists and psychological workers who advise the interrogators, the report said.

The United States government, which received the report in July, sharply rejected its charges, administration and military officials said.

Read more.

[RoyGBiv]

1. No ... Really?

I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

[phillysuse]

2. Doctors flagrantly violate medical ethics in Guantanamo torture

I wonder if the Red Cross listed the names of the
physicians involved.
If they did, it would be of interest to write the states
in which they were licensed and get their licenses
suspended. You still need an active state license to practice medicine
for the government even if you practice in the military.
In addition, maybe they could also be reported to
the National Data Bank for Physicians.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. The report is confidential

Consequently, the ICRC will not confirm or deny what The New York Times says in in the report. That means that the Red Cross won't be writing to any state licensing boards.