Washington – FBI agents documented more than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the Guantanamo Bay military base, including one detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape for chanting the Koran and another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering room.
Documents released Tuesday by the FBI offered new details about the harsh interrogation practices used by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants.
One interrogator reportedly bragged to an FBI agent about dressing as a Catholic priest and “baptizing” a prisoner.
Some military officials and contractors told FBI agents the interrogation techniques had been approved by the Defense Department, including directly by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The documents were released in response to a public-records request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and others on behalf of former military detainees who say they were abused. Many of the incidents in the FBI documents have already been reported.
Defense Department spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said the issues raised in the report are not new. A dozen reviews of detention operations have found no policies that condone abuse, he said.
The treatment of detainees has long been a volatile subject, especially between the administration and the Democratic lawmakers set to assume the majority when the 110th Congress convenes on Thursday.
One incoming chairman served notice Tuesday that the issue is a top priority. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said his panel’s first oversight hearing would focus on two documents Leahy is seeking about the interrogation methods of another agency, the CIA.
The Justice Department has refused to hand over the documents, saying they are “extremely sensitive” and could help terrorists plot attacks.
