Red Cross says detainees reported abuse

[struggle4progress]

Source: Associated Press

Staff and agencies
21 March, 2007

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 20, 4:34 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Terror detainees once held in the CIA ‘s secret prisons were kept and questioned under highly abusive conditions, the International Committee of the Red Cross says in a confidential report based on interviews with high-value terror suspects.

The CIA‘s detention methods were designed to soften detainees and make them more likely to talk during interrogation. Human rights organizations say the CIA‘s extreme conditions of detention and the coercive questioning techniques constitute torture.

U.S. officials familiar with the report, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the highly sensitive document has not been released, said it is based entirely on accounts from interviews with detainees and has not been verified. One official cautioned that the claims were made by terror suspects who could be charged in the deaths of innocent civilians.

"We do not comment on our findings publicly. The report is a confidential document," Schorno said Monday ...

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