CIA Torture Methods ‘Far Worse’ Than Presented to Policy Makers: US Senate

The US Senate claims that the interrogations of CIA detainees were far worse than it has been presented. CIA methods included ice baths, threats of death, and threatening detainees that their families would be harmed.

WASHINGTON, December 9 (Sputnik) – Interrogation techniques used against terror suspects by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were brutal and far worse than the agency presented to policy makers and the American public, a US Senate report released Tuesday revealed.

"The interrogations of CIA detainees were brutal and far worse than the CIA represented to policymakers and others," the Senate reports read.

CIA interrogation techniques included “techniques such as slaps and 'wallings' (slamming detainees against a wall) [that] were used in combination, frequently concurrent with sleep deprivation and nudity”, along with “ice baths, threats of death, and threatening detainees that their families would be harmed,” according to the report.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee released on Tuesday a 500-page summary of the detailed investigation into the CIA interrogation techniques that were used on alleged al-Qaeda agents following the 9/11 attacks on Washington and New York.

The report indicated that many of the harsh tactics used by the CIA went beyond those approved by the White House and Department of Justice.

The report took nearly four years to compile, and is the most comprehensive report to date examining the CIA’s torture program. It is not immediately clear whether anybody will be held accountable for the illegal practices.