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Abu Ghraib, Five Years On: Accountability for Torture?
By: Priscila Néri, Posted: Apr 28 09
Regions: United States
Issues: Armed conflict, Justice, Torture
Tags: Abu Ghraib, accountability, Afghanistan, Errol Morris, iraq, photographs, Standard Operating Procedure, U.S. Department of Justice, war on terror, waterboarding
On April 28, 2004, the first photographs depicting torture of detainees by U.S. military personnel in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison emerged, sparking international outrage.
In today's featured video - a clip from Errol Morris' documentary Standard Operating Procedure - Sabrina Harman, a former U.S. Army Specialist, takes us behind the scenes of one of those photographs: the now iconic image of a hooded man, standing on a box, with electrical wires tied to his hands.
Five years have passed and the new administration in the U.S. has ordered the release of previously classified information about how those practices were allowed to take place. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice released four memos detailing the Bush administration's legal justification for the use of torture methods like waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and stress positions.
Now, groups both within the U.S. and beyond are calling for justice and accountability, whether through an independent inquiry or a special prosecutor for torture. Take action now by signing these petitions: Avaaz, ACLU, Human Rights First, and MoveOn.org.
UPDATE, 30 April: Witness Against Torture's 100 Days Campaign culminates today with a rally in Washington DC.
Comments
Great interviews on the history of torture policies...
By Chris Michael on May 1 09
Thanks for this great post, Priscila. I just wanted to add a few interesting audio interviews that illuminate some of the decision making around the torture policies and memos, as well as the Spanish Court's investigation of "Bush's Torture Team". Conducted by Teri Gross of National Public Radio's Fresh Air program, British attorney Philippe Sands discusses his new book Torture Team, which makes a case that high-ranking members of the Bush administration were responsible for instituting harsh interrogation tactics against detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Additionally, Gross interviews New York Times reporter Scott Shane, who covers national-security issues from the newspaper's Washington bureau. He's been covering the release of the torture memos, and he talks about what the documents reveal — and what the fallout may be.
~Chris Michael | Hub Coordinator