Russia Today
A recently-released Pentagon report admits to interrogating
Guantanamo Bay prisoners after administering mind-altering treatments to
them - often forcibly against their will - but stresses it was not done
for the purposes of interrogation.
The report by the inspector general of the US Department of Defense
obtained by truth-out.org under the Freedom of Information Act, found
that some Gitmo inmates were questioned while receiving prescribed
psychoactive treatments.
The Pentagon has tried to justify the facility staff’s actions, saying that “nowhere
in the medical records did we find any evidence of mind-altering drugs
being administered for the purpose of interrogation,” as the report states on page 13.
“The detainees were not given drugs as a means to facilitate interrogation,” insisted Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale.
But
the report does admit that “certain detainees, diagnosed as having
serious mental health conditions being treated with psychoactive
medications on a continuing basis, were interrogated.”
The inspector general also notes that “numerous” inmates have complained of being medicated against their will, but adds that wardens have used treatments known as “chemical restraints” to quell the aggressive individuals.
“Some detainees were involuntarily medicated to help control serious mental illnesses,” says a former commander of the Joint Medical Group at Guantanamo.
The report further admits that drugs administered "could impair an individual's ability to provide accurate information."
The
medication under question, known as Haldol, has been used for over 50
years, and is often administered in psychiatric wards. Several side
effects including depression, suicidal behavior and heart attacks are
known to exist.
The Pentagon spokesman has refused to comment
about how often such substances are used at the detention center, where
the US has locked up nearly 170 men, writes the Washington Post.-[Full Article]
