Source: http://lawofwar.org/drop_by_drop.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 10:28:28+00:00

Document:
B. Water Torture Prosecutions Before Other U.S.
treatment while you were being questioned?
was given what they call the water cure. . . .
water . . . , what did you physically feel?
gasping between life and death.
hands in regard to torture as an interrogation technique.
strapped down, dunked under water and made to believe that he might be drowned.”).
4. See, e.g., Mark Danner, Torture and Truth, N.Y. REV. BOOKS, June 10, 2004, at 46.
techniques, says a source familiar with the discussions.
generally of the kind difficult for the victim to endure.
seen in mental disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder.
treatment or punishment fail to rise to the level of torture.
5. John Yoo, Commentary, Behind the ‘Torture Memos,’ U.C. BERKELEY NEWS, Jan.
8. See YOO, supra note 5, at 46.
available at http://thomas.loc.gov/ [hereinafter Military Commissions Act].
11. War Crimes Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (2000).
U.S.T. 3217, 75 U.N.T.S. 85; Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War art.
Civilian Persons in Time of War art. 3, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. 3516, 75 U.N.T.S. 287.
(C) the threat of imminent death; . . .
Military Commissions Act, supra note 9, § 6(d)(2)(D)(A).
14. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 126 S. Ct. 2749, 2795–96 (2006).
15. See, e.g., Military Commissions Act, supra note 9, § 3(a)(1); 10 U.S.C.§ 948b(g).
16. Military Commissions Act, supra note 9, § 6(a)(2).
FO, SCOTSMAN, Mar. 11, 2006, available at http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?
Harold H. Koh, A World Without Torture, 43 COLUM. J. TRANSNAT’L L. 641 (2005); Seth F.
on Terrorism,” 1 J. NAT’L SEC. L. & POL’Y 285 (2005).
rules and procedures as the better-known Nuremburg Tribunal. See generally Evan J.
Trials: Did They Provide an Outline for International Legal Procedure?, 37 COLUM. J.
Prosecutor: How long were you left lying there?
Prosecutor: Did you drink any water?
Witness: Some, but not very much.
Prosecutor: What happened after the two hours?
agent and would be treated the way all British agents deserved.
Prosecutor: What happened after he made that remark?
other and I was dipped into a pool of water.
Prosecutor: Was this pool in the garage?
Prosecutor: What happened after they carried you to this pool?
placed me into the pool with my head downwards.
Prosecutor: Did your face go under water?
Prosecutor: How long did you stay there?
Witness: I cannot tell you.
Prosecutor: Could you hold your breath for the length of time?
Prosecutor: Did they then bring your head out of the water?
Testimony of Khoo Hock Choo, id. at 86–87.
over my face and pour water over the towel.
freezing cold. When I would pass out, they would shake me and begin again.
Air Officer Tells of Torture by Foe, N.Y. TIMES, Aug. 6, 1953, at 3.
interrogators who had tortured detainees.
This technique, called the “water rag,” causes a drowning sensation . . . .
the water rag on a detainee, records show.
propaganda man,” Carmon said, according to his sworn statement.
Deborah Nelson & Nick Turse, A Tortured Past, L.A. TIMES, Aug. 20, 2006, at A1.
24. See, e.g., In re Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litigation, 910 F.
Supp. 1460, 1463 (D. Haw. 1995). See also infra note 117.
Magbanna Zaide eds., Garland Publishing Inc., 1981).
A27 (using term “water boarding” to describe American treatment of al Qaeda prisoners).
27. James Risen et al., Harsh C.I.A. Methods Cited in Top Qaeda Interrogations, N.Y.
Aug. 3, 2005, at A1.
28. Mayer, supra note 2, at 106.
Traumatic Suffocation, 154 AMER. J. PSYCHIATRY 1566 (1997).
The natural progression of events is fairly typical.
surface. Owing to exhaustion, panic or inability to . . .
30. Id. at 1568 (emphasis added).
Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH Publication No. 2004-152 (2004).
Respiratory Challenges in 98 Subjects, 154 AMER. J. PSYCHIATRY 1557 (1997).
those who describe it that way have ever experienced it.
and legs stretched out, one guard holding each limb.
PHILIPPINES, 1899–1903, at 213 (1982).
Id. See also supra note 5.
raid on the Japanese mainland. See generally CRAIG NELSON, THE FIRST HEROES (2002).
the Japanese who convened and participated in the trial. See United States v. Sawada, 5 L.
REP. TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS 1 (1948).
39. Testimony of CPT Chase Jay Nielsen, supra note 1, at 55.
40. See Danner, supra note 4.
War, just over a hundred years ago.
one of the methods described above.
41. Danner, supra note 26.
42. Risen et al., supra note 27.
45. See discussion of IMTFE Final Judgment infra at Part II(C).
of crew members of the April, 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo.
the new officer questions in a sympathetic manner.
IMTFE Judgment, Torture Section, Record, supra note 25, at 49,664.
general, direct physical brutality creates only resentment, hostility and further defiance.”).
49. See id. at xii; Wallach, supra note 19, at 863–68.
appeal denied sub nom. Yamashita v. Styer, 327 U.S. 1 (1946).
lesser war criminals57 before sole state military commissions or tribunals.
was included in the charges and specifications against the defendants.
Jan. 30–Feb. 1, 1946, 3 L. REP. TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS 76 (1947).
Military Court, Rabaul, Mar. 20–23, 1946, 5 L. REP. TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS 25 (1948).
Contemporary Action, 6 AM. J. BIOETHICS 3, 3 (2006).
Batavia, Oct. 25 1946, 13 L. REP. TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS 122 (1949).
Japan (Japan Policy Research Institute, JPRI Occasional Paper No. 33, 2004).
58. See infra notes 59 and 60.
that he unlawfully caused the prisoners to be treated as war criminals.
witness stand in this case?
Q: Did you hear him tell how he was treated . . . ?
A: The Gendarmerie took them over already . . . .
how they were treated did you?
A: I thought they were treated fairly.
given the water treatment out there, didn’t you?
60. Specifications, Record of Trial, supra note 59, at 2–3.
Telegram from Sec. of State Cordell Hull to Japanese Government via Bern Legation, Apr.
A: I heard him say he received it from the Gendarmes.
he should have seen to it that they had proper treatment.
65. Commission’s Conclusions, Record of Trial, United States v. Sawada, 5 L. REP.
(1946), at 549, available at National Archives.
water torture applied to Captain Nielsen.
accepted in other U.S. military commissions in the Pacific Theater.
victims, and resulted in severe punishment for its perpetrators.
Q: And then did he take you back to your room?
War Criminals Case File, 1945-49, Box 1586, File Chinsaku Yuki-Vol. I.
dependencies, and Japan, did violate the laws and customs of war.
limited to noncombatants. Id., Vol. VI (Judgment), at 249–50.
so what I did was to take off my clothes as ordered.
A: No sir, on my face, until I became unconscious.
face and then Yuki poured water on my face continuously.
Col. Keeley: And you couldn’t breathe?
A: No, I could not and so I for a time lost consciousness.
consciousness came back again for me.
A: From my mouth and all openings of my face . . .
Q: How many times did that happen?
68. Id., Vol. III (Public Trial), at 85–86.
Col. Keeley: Was it painful?
A: Not so painful, but one becomes unconscious.
Like drowning in the water.
Q: Like you were drowning?
A: Drowning: you could hardly breathe.
Q: How many times did he do that?
case heard before a U.S. Military Commission at Yokohama, Japan.
Japan, did violate the Laws and Customs of War.
fastening him on a stretcher and pouring water up his nostrils.
Hata, did, willfully and unlawfully, brutally mistreat and torture Thomas B.
noses, and by pressing lighted cigarettes against their bodies.
U.S. Military Commission, Yokohama, 1947 (emphasis added).
the Laws and Customs of War.
Asano, did willfully and unlawfully, brutally mistreat and torture Morris O.
pressing lighted cigarettes against their bodies.
by fastening him head downward on a stretcher and forcing water into his nose.
United States . . . and Japan, did violate the Laws and Customs of War.
May 1–28, 1947 (emphasis added).
Allies and Dependencies, and Japan, did violate the Laws and Customs of War.
torture per se, but specifications two and nine refer to forcing prisoners into a tank of water.
[T]hey laid me out on a stretcher and strapped me on.
touching the floor and my feet in the air. . . .
Genji Mineno. See infra text accompanying note 85.
upside down and water poured up his nose and beaten into unconsciousness.
KITA, and the unidentified Japanese Warant [sic] Officer.
v. Nakamura, at Exhibit 6.
continued for about six hours.
Depot, United States v. Hideji Nakamura, U.S. Military Commission, Yokohama, 1947.
with a club, using a bamboo stick about two feet long and two inches thick. . . .
toward the floor and feet resting on a nearby sink.
me down into the hallway, they laid me out on a stretcher and strapped me on.
arise so one of the prisoners . . . helped me.
Nakamura, U.S. Military Commission, Yokohama, 1947.
the help of two other Japanese guards.
Sworn Statement of George E. Gibson (civilian contractor captured at Wake Island), Sept.
water down BURTON’s nose and mouth.
v. Hideji Nakamura, U.S. Military Commission, Yokohama, 1947.
85. Military Commission Case Docket No 47 Tried at Yokohama June 25–28, 1946.
Entry 143: War Crimes Branch; Case Files, 1944-49, Box 1025, File No. 36-449-Vol. I.
Mineno was a civilian employee of the Imperial Japanese Army.
War, by strapping them to a stretcher and pouring water down their nostrils.
did, willfully and unlawfully, brutally mistreat and torture Thomas B.
Army, Yokohama, Japan, Document No. 46, Aug. 17, 1946, at 1–2.
87. See supra notes 69–81.
Army Judge Advocate, 1946–1949. National Archives Publication M1112.
Iwata told a few soldiers to hold Peters head backwards.
water, by placing him in solitary confinement and by otherwise abusing him.
Specifications Against Yagoheiji Iwata), at 1–2.
Army, Yokohama, Japan, Sept. 17, 1948, at 1.
94. IMTFE Charter, supra note 47.
Nuremburg Tribunal and the IMTFE. Wallach, supra note 19, at 858.
96. See IMTFE Judgment, Record, supra note 25, at 48,413.
17 U. KAN. CITY L. REV. 117, 123 (1949).
Laws and Customs of War. . . .
Chapter 3 of the said Geneva Convention, and to the said assurances: 1.
of any kind, for alleged offences.
Section Twelve. IMTFE Indictment, supra note 98.
to indicate policy both in training and execution.
sometimes pressed on it with his foot.
100. IMTFE Judgment, supra note 96, at 49,663.
101. IMTFE Record, supra note 25, at 13,811, 13,812.
as Prosecution Exhibit 1519A, Dec. 16, 1946, IMTFE Record, supra note 25, at 12,935.
procedure was sometimes repeated 5–6 times in succession.
mouth and water forced into the abdomen and lungs.
Record, supra note 25, at 13,691.
Prosecution Exhibit 1892-A, Jan. 3, 1947, IMTFE Record, supra note 25, at 14,168.
IMTFE Record, supra note 25, at 15,339.
108. IMTFE Judgment, supra note 96, at 49,664.
Adaman Islands, water torture carried, including by one of the judges); Affidavit of Maj. A.
has sufficiently recuperated the treatment is resumed.
between the teeth, or on a rag held firmly over these two orifices.
Shigemitsu was sentenced to seven years imprisonment based on mitigating circumstances.
aggression and against the peace. Id.
111. Signature page, IMTFE Record, supra note 25, at 49,858.
(France), and Rabhabinod Pal (India). 21 THE TOKYO WAR CRIMES TRIAL, supra note 25.
Philippines (1899-1902): Their Contributions to National Case Law on War Crimes, 1 J.
specifications), and sentenced to be admonished. Id. at 140.
American War] had been ‘a splendid little war.’”).
115. MILLER, supra note 35, at 213.
guerillas who had been engaged in a revolution against Spanish rule.
and the conduct of the war resulted in numerous political conflicts.
119. See id. at 31–56.
120. See id. at 57–66.
121. See id. at 104–28.
the period between 1899 and 1903. See generally id.
123. Full Disclosure of the Facts, N.Y. TIMES, May 1, 1902, at 8.
the conduct of the army in the islands I do not believe.
forms of torture encountered in the Philippines was the water cure.
enemy combatants” was questioning using a form of water torture.
125. SAN FRANCISCO CALL, Sept. 20, 1900.
to concur with this judgment. An Army board called to investigate . . .
among officers assigned to intelligence work.
case, but none in the other.
has been a witness to at least twenty applications of the water cure.
127. Tell of “Water Cure” Cases, N.Y. TIMES, June 13, 1902, at 3.
129. Testified on “Water Cure,” N.Y. TIMES, Apr. 22, 1902, at 2.
130. The Water Cure Described, N.Y. TIMES, May 4, 1902, at 13.
means. A legitimate combatant was never ill-treated.
The water cure is very uncomfortable, but not serious.
131. Letter to the Editor, N.Y. TIMES, July 13, 1902, at 8.
fell under [General Order] 100’s proscription of torture.
cure’ is the favorite torture . . . to force natives to give information . .
changed his position. In light of additional testimony before Sen.
OPERATIONS DOCTRINE, 1860–1941, at 132 (1998).
138. Cruelty Charge Denied, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 20, 1902, at 3.
tank holding probably one hundred gallons.
sent for a can of water . . . holding about five gallons.
gave in and gave the information they sought and then he was allowed to rise.
GEORGE J.A. O’TOOLE, THE SPANISH WAR: AN AMERICAN EPIC, 1898, at 389 (1986).
142. More Courts Martial in the Philippines, N.Y. TIMES, Apr. 16, 1902, at 1.
any cruelty or brutality, and that the men who are guilty thereof are punished.
the cruel brutality of a fierce and heartless foe.
conduct resulted in a civil action in U.S. federal court.
to have accompanied water torture.”).
water torture techniques was indeed criminal conduct under U.S. law.
indicate that he was suffocating and/or drowning.
Q: What were you afraid of?
A: Afraid of drowning; it was hard to breathe.
151. Id. at 4, 7.
153. United Press International, Ex-Deputy Tells Jury of Jail Water Torture, N.Y.
TIMES, Sept. 1, 1983, at A22.
I thought I was going to drown.
unaware that any such incidents were taking place.
what Baker’s defense and testimony would be.
154. Brief of Petitioner-Appellee at 8, United States v. Lee, No. 83-2675 (5th Cir. Nov.
severance. Lee, 744 F.2d at 1124.
(discussing another allegation of water torture by Sheriff Parker).
Against Torture to acts which constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S.
Constitution. See supra note 6.
in mental disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder.
Their definition162 may be subject to challenge as a matter of law.
161. See Bybee, supra note 6, at 46.
1994 law criminalizing torture committed abroad.
The department issued a new memo that superseded the August 2002 memo.
provoking excruciating and agonizing pain.
that many critics of the administration have ignored or misunderstood.
made clear that the administration never ordered the torture of any prisoner.
psychological harm? Can there be any doubt that it is torture?
can feel like drowning.” Hirsh et al., supra note 7. It would be interesting if he would do so.
284 (2d ed. 1932) (“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. . . .

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