Death By "Questioning": Whose Law in Whose Hands?
from "ACLU Links Detainee Deaths to U.S. Interrogations" [excerpts; emphasis added]
By John Hendren Los Angels Times

The American Civil Liberties Union said today that its analysis of 44 prisoners who died in U.S. military custody in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that the deaths often followed abusive interrogations by Navy SEALs, military intelligence and the CIA.

The ACLU's analysis of documents obtained from the U.S. Army under the Freedom of Information Act concluded that 21 of 44 deaths of people in custody were homicides, and eight appear to have resulted from abusive tactics, the organization said.

The documents detailed some new cases and a number of instances of deaths that have been previously reported, and show a "pervasive" abuse by elite Navy SEALs and interrogators, the organization found.

ACLU officials called for senior military officials to be identified and held accountable for the deaths."These documents present irrefutable evidence that U.S. operatives tortured detainees to death during interrogations," said Amrit Singh, an attorney with the ACLU. "The public has a right to know who authorized the use of torture techniques and why these deaths have been covered up."

The documents marked the latest in a drumbeat of reports that have been highly critical of the U.S. military's handling of prisoners since a spate of abuse cases at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison were revealed graphically in a series of photographs of often-naked prisoners forced into humiliating poses.

"There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "High-ranking officials who knew about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must be held accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture scandal that has rocked our military."