Group Charges Complicity by CIA Medics in Torture (William Fisher)

Sept. 1, 2009 -- NEW YORK (Inter Press Service) -- Did physicians and psychologists help the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency develop a new research protocol to assess and refine the use of waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques?

This is the question being raised in a new report by a leading human rights organisation. The group says that, if confirmed, it would likely constitute a "new, previously unknown category of ethical violations committed by CIA physicians and psychologists".

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) charges that "The extent to which American physicians and psychologists violated human rights and betrayed the ethical standards of their professions by designing, implementing, and legitimizing a worldwide torture program is greater than previously known."

A team of PHR doctors authored the new white paper, "Aiding Torture: Health Professionals' Ethics and Human Rights Violations Demonstrated in the May 2004 Inspector General's Report."

The report details how the CIA relied on medical expertise to rationalise and carry out abusive and unlawful interrogations. It also refers to aggregate collection of data on detainees' reaction to interrogation methods.

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