Ill treatment may be as traumatic as torture

[Contrary1]

Broader definition of torture needed in light of study’s findings, experts say


Prisoners who endure poor or degrading treatment suffer much of the same long-term psychological distress as do captives who are tortured, suggests a study published Monday.

The study was based on interviews with victims of ill treatment and torture while imprisoned in the former Yugoslavia, and experts said the findings underscored the need for a broader definition of torture.

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The Bush administration has said the U.S. uses legal interrogation techniques — not torture — to gain information that could head off terror attacks. It insists that the U.S. complies with the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Yet Washington’s definition of torture, as interpreted by the U.S. Justice Department after reports of American abuses at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan surfaced, is fairly narrow..."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17469756/