Published 3 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3599
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3599

News

US doctors and psychologists more complicit in torture than previously thought

Peter Moszynski

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The extent to which US doctors and psychologists violated human rights and betrayed the ethical standards of their professions by designing and implementing a worldwide torture programme is greater than previously thought, says a report from Physicians for Human Rights.

The report is based on analysis of a previously classified report from the inspector general of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that was released at the end of August, on Barack Obama’s instructions and which provides more detail on the role of health professionals in the CIA’s torture programme, including abuses conducted against 14 detainees between September 2001 and October 2003.

The new report’s authors argue that the information shows that health professionals played central roles in developing, implementing, and providing justification for torture. Health professionals in the Office of Medical Services and psychologist contractors engaged in designing and monitoring harmful interrogation techniques, they say.

Scott Allen, Physicians for Human . . . [Full text of this article]


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