Interrogation and torture

Article By:

Meissner, Christian A. Department of Psychology, University of Texas, El Paso, Texas.

Albrechtsen, Justin S. University of Texas, El Paso, Texas.

Last reviewed:2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB071450

In November 2001, three citizens from Tipton, England, were detained in northern Afghanistan and sent to Sherbegan Prison. Thereafter they were handed over to the U.S. military and transferred to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, where they remained for over 2 years. Following their release in 2004, the “Tipton Three” reported enduring what might be considered torture, including prolonged isolation, poor living conditions, deprivation of food and water, lack of medical treatment, sexual humiliation, drug inducement, and physical abuse. In addition, the three described hundreds of hours spent under interrogation, often placed in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time and questioned by persistent interrogators who claimed to have evidence of their involvement with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. As a result of their harsh treatment, they eventually confessed to traveling to Afghanistan to fight a holy jihad and to having been present at a rally with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The three were later returned to the United Kingdom and were able to prove to British authorities that they had no involvement with al-Qaeda—rather, their confessions had been elicited falsely as a result of the physical and psychological torture they had endured at Guantanamo. This article will review research on the effectiveness of physical and psychological torture in the context of interrogations, and discuss the psychological processes that lead to both true and false confessions.

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