US terror interrogation went too far, experts say

[babylonsister]

US terror interrogation went too far, experts say
Reports find that Jose Padilla's solitary confinement led to mental problems.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the August 13, 2007 edition

Psychiatrist Stuart Grassian, an expert on the effects of solitary confinement, explains what he found after defense lawyers hired him to examine terrorist suspect Jose Padilla.

Miami - Jose Padilla had no history of mental illness when President Bush ordered him detained in 2002 as a suspected Al Qaeda operative. But he does now.

The Muslim convert was subjected to prison conditions and interrogation techniques that took him past the breaking point, mental health experts say.

Two psychiatrists and a psychologist who conducted detailed personal examinations of Mr. Padilla on behalf of his defense lawyers say his extended detention and interrogation at the US Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., left him with severe mental disabilities. All three say he may never recover.

Padilla's psychological condition is important because his situation marks the first time an enemy combatant in the war on terror is in a position to present a verifiable claim of abuse at the hands of US interrogators. Padilla's mental health itself is a form of evidence, mental-health experts say, and it strongly suggests that – at least in Padilla's case – the government's harsh interrogation and confinement tactics went too far.

Padilla is currently on trial in Miami on terror conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say he was a willing Al Qaeda recruit who attended a training camp in Afghanistan. He denies the allegations. Closing arguments in the three-month trial are slated to begin Monday.

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0813/p01s03-usju.html