Pentagon Reaffirms Rules For Doctors Handling Terror Suspects

TERRORWARS

illustration only

Washington (AFP) Jun 28, 2005
The Pentagon on Monday reaffirmed rules for medical personnel treating detainees, after a report said military doctors helped in the interrogations of prisoners at the "war on terror" prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

The Defense Department also reiterated guidelines on the protection of detainees' medical information, which a medical journal said were systematically seen by interrogators.

In a public policy memorandum dated June 3, which the Defense Department made public Monday, the Pentagon stated that it is against its policy for health care personnel to "apply their knowledge and skills in order to assist in the interrogation of detainees in a manner that is not in accordance with applicable law."

The New York Times, citing former interrogators, reported Friday that US military doctors advised interrogators on how to increase stress levels and apply psychological pressure on detainees at Guantanamo.

The Times' account followed a report in the July 7 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine indicating that interrogators at Guantanamo were systematically accessing the medical records of prisoners.

"Although detainees do not have an absolute right of confidentiality with respect to information they share with medical care providers, the general guidance is to maintain such information confidentially, except for approved and documented specific reasons," the Pentagon said in a statement.

"This is the same standard that would apply in US federal prisons," it said.

"Any detainee related information provided by healthcare personnel for reasons other than treatment must be for a specific purpose, documented and approved by a medical commander before it is released," said William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

He added: "To the best of my knowledge we have no credible evidence that a military physician participated in detainee abuse."

"We expect military medical personnel, and all other service members, to abide by policies that require detainees be treated humanely and to report any suspected detainee mistreatment," Winkenwerder said in the statement.

The controversy over interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo and other US military prisons, especially those housing terrorist suspects, has grown since the US-led war in Iraq.

Around 520 suspects of some 40 nationalities, captured during the US-led war on terror, are detained at Guantanamo. A growing list of complaints has led to persistent calls that the facility be shut down.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

TERRORWARS

Feds Check Passports Against Terror List

Washington (UPI) June 23, 2005
The federal government plans to begin checking the name of everyone who applies for a U.S. passport against a list of suspected terrorists and their associates, according to the State Department.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.