Slamming a Prisoner’s Head Repeatedly Against a Wall Isn’t That Bad, Either
It’s called walling by the CIA. As described in the International Committee of the Red Cross report obtained by Mark Danner, this technique involves placing
It’s called “walling” by the CIA. As described in the International Committee of the Red Cross report obtained by Mark Danner, this technique involves placing a collar around the prisoner’s neck and using it to slam him repeatedly against a wall.
According to Steven Bradbury, however, “[a]lthough the walling technique involves the use of considerable force to push the detainee against the wall and may involve a large number of repetitions in certain cases, we understand that the false wall that is used is flexible and that this technique is not designed to, and does not, cause severe physical pain to the detainee.”
Sure, there the collar might hurt, but ” any physical pain associated with the use of the collar would not approach the level of intensity needed to constitute severe physical pain.” Similarly, “we do not believe that the physical distress caused by this technique or the duration of its use, even with multiple repetitions, could amount to severe physical suffering . . . ”
So how exactly does a lawyer in the Office of Legal Counsel in Washington draw that conclusion? Do any of them try it out?
Maybe the conclusion comes from the opinion of “the medical and psychological personnel [who] are present or observing during the use of this technique…”
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