TAMPA – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought its Reckoning with Torture program to The University of Tampa on April 22 to raise awareness about the unlawful interrogation techniques used by many nations, including the United States of America.
Reckoning with Torture is a collection of memos and personal testimonies gathered from the War on Terror.
These are documented personal testimonies from prisoners detained by U.S. custody.
The excerpts explain, in detail, the tactics used by military personal during the War on Terror.
Abu Zubaydah was in United States custody and held at a secret CIA prison.
His personal testimony is included in a report by International Committee for the Red Cross about the treatment he underwent while detained in U.S. custody.
UT student Eric Zelter read Zubaydah’s testimony.
Walling is a torture technique used by these interrogators, according to the report from Zubaydah.
According to the ACLU walling is using a flexible false wall (usually plywood) to promote a bounce affect to cut down on the physical bruises left on the victim.
According to ACLU the prisoners are slammed into the wall.
The neck is supported by a rolled towel to prevent whiplash and permanent injury to the prisoner.
Another technique described in the testimony is waterboarding.
During waterboarding the individual is tied to an inclined bench, and a towel is placed over his or her eyes and face.
Water is poured onto the cloth, cutting off the victims air supply, giving the affect that the victim is drowning which causes extreme mental stress and permanent disorders according to the ACLU.
The ACLU, as stated on its website, is “Our nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
For more information visit http://www.aclufl.org.
Kyle can be reached at kbennett@ut.edu.
It’s good that they’re raising awareness. A lot of people just don’t know about the torture that goes on.