Earlier today, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) published a remarkable report that presents medical documentation of former detainees' claims that they endured torture at the hands of US personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay.
The landmark report, Broken Laws, Broken Lives: Medical Evidence of Torture by US Personnel and Its Impact, is a searing indictment of the US government's role in the torture of these eleven men. PHR's work is already receiving significant media coverage, including a feature story by the Associated Press. As stated in the preface to the report by Maj. General Antonio Taguba, who led the US Army investigation into the Abu Ghraib scandal:
[T]here is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.
Although high-ranking administration officials have previously tried to downplay the abusive conditions in US detainment facilities, and argued that cases of mistreatment were anomalies, the results of PHR's work clearly discredits such claims.
Farnoosh Hashemian, MPH, PHR Research Associate and lead author of the report said:
These poignant case studies focus on the profound and lasting consequences of cruelty inflicted by US personnel. The detainees suffer permanent hearing loss, persistent and debilitating pain in limbs and joints, major depressive disorder, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks.
PHR calls on the US government to fully investigate and hold accountable those who participated in sanctioning a policy of torture; to publicly apologize to the men abused in their custody; and to provide remedies to survivors, including medical and psychological treatment.
Thank you for your generous support, which makes PHR's critical work possible.
To download the full report and take action, please visit http://brokenlives.info.