rssCIA Confirms 12 Destroyed Videotapes Depicted ‘Enhanced Interrogation Methods’
Friday, March 06, 2009 at 7:33 pm
- 9 Comments
The CIA has reportedly just confirmed — conveniently late on a Friday afternoon — that 12 of the videotapes it destroyed while its interrogation methods were under investigation and the subject of a pending lawsuit depicted the “enhanced interrogation methods” that detainees’ advocates were worried about.
The American Civil Liberties Union reports that as part of its lawsuit seeking information on detainee abuse, the government today provided new details about the content of interrogation videotapes destroyed by the CIA — specifically, that 12 depict so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.” In court documents, the government also said it would produce a complete list of summaries, transcripts or memoranda related to the videotapes by March 20. However, the inventory of tapes provided to the court is so heavily redacted that it’s virtually all black ink.
“The government is needlessly withholding information about these tapes from the public, despite the fact that the CIA’s use of torture – including waterboarding – is no secret,” said Amrit Singh, staff attorney with the ACLU in a statement released today. “This new information only underscores the need for full and immediate disclosure of the CIA’s illegal interrogation methods. The time has come for the CIA to be held accountable for flouting the rule of law.”
In December 2007, the ACLU filed a motion to hold the CIA in contempt for its destruction of the tapes in violation of a court order requiring the agency to produce or identify all records requested by the ACLU. That motion is still pending.
Earlier this week, the CIA acknowledged it destroyed 92 tapes of interrogations. According to today’s documents, these tapes all related to just two detainees; 90 involved one, and the other two tapes showed the other. The tapes were not identified and processed for the ACLU in response to its Freedom of Information Act request back in 2005 seeking information on the treatment and interrogation of detainees in U.S. custody. The ACLU notes that the tapes were also withheld from the 9/11 Commission, which had specifically asked the CIA to hand over transcripts and recordings documenting the interrogation of CIA prisoners.
Legal documents in the case are available here.
9 Comments
Trackback posted March 6, 2009 @ 9:02 pm
The Washington Independent » CIA Confirms 12 Destroyed Videotapes Depicted ‘Enhanced Interrogation Methods’…
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Comment posted March 7, 2009 @ 8:55 am
By destroying these tapes (illegally, as they were discoverable items in a court case), the CIA leads people to assume the worst. I now assume the tapes showed prisoners being kicked, punched, cut, shouted at, stripped, attacked by dogs, raped, humiliated, starved, near frozen, urinated on, etc. And now that the tapes are gone, there's no way to prove otherwise. One must assume these tapes showed pretty bad stuff if people were willing to go to jail to prevent them from being seen.
The CIA is all about information, and yet they (illegally) destroyed information to (one can only assume) save some peoples' butts.
As G.I. Joe says, “knowing is half the battle”.
What you don't know may kill you.
Pingback posted March 7, 2009 @ 9:38 am
[...] by: Daphne Eviatar | Visit article original @ The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted March 7, 2009 @ 11:55 am
[...] am by LeisureGuy Or, as the CIA prefers to call it, "Enhanced interrogation techniques." Daphne Eviatar in the Washington Independent: The CIA has reportedly just confirmed — conveniently late on a Friday afternoon — that 12 of [...]
Comment posted March 7, 2009 @ 4:46 pm
The people responsible for destroying the tapes should be held accountable. What a disgrace, what a travesity of justice. This country must insist that all departments follow the law, not just when it convenient, but all the time. The people must speak out and let these agencies know we will not stand idly by while they go about business as usual. Thank you for the informative article.
Comment posted March 7, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
By destroying these tapes (illegally, as they were discoverable items in a court case), the CIA leads people to assume the worst. I now assume the tapes showed prisoners being kicked, punched, cut, shouted at, stripped, attacked by dogs, raped, humiliated, starved, near frozen, urinated on, etc. And now that the tapes are gone, there's no way to prove otherwise. One must assume these tapes showed pretty bad stuff if people were willing to go to jail to prevent them from being seen.
The CIA is all about information, and yet they (illegally) destroyed information to (one can only assume) save some peoples' butts.
As G.I. Joe says, “knowing is half the battle”.
What you don't know may kill you.
Pingback posted March 7, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
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Comment posted March 8, 2009 @ 12:46 am
The people responsible for destroying the tapes should be held accountable. What a disgrace, what a travesity of justice. This country must insist that all departments follow the law, not just when it convenient, but all the time. The people must speak out and let these agencies know we will not stand idly by while they go about business as usual. Thank you for the informative article.
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