Texas psychologist Jim Cox filed a complaint against former CIA contractor and fellow Texas licensee , Dr. James Mitchell on June 17, 2010.  On July 7, 2010, Ohio and New York residents filed separate complaints against former Guantanamo psychologists, Dr. John Leso and Dr. Larry James.

The full complaints, released to the public by the complainants, are available here:

• Texas complaint against Dr. James Mitchell
• Ohio complaint against Dr. Larry James
• New York complaint against Dr. John Leso

James Mitchell

The Texas complaint, drafted by a Northwestern University law clinic and Texas attorney Dicky Gregg, alleges that:

[Dr. Mitchell’s ] transgressions fall into three categories:

• First, to achieve his ultimate plan of implementing a brutal interrogation and torture regime, Dr. Mitchell misrepresented his professional qualifications and experience to the Central Intelligence Agency. He also placed his own career and financial aspirations above the safety of others.

• Second, Dr. Mitchell designed this torture regime only by ignoring the complete lack of a scientific basis for the regime‘s safety and—assuming its safety—its effectiveness. In doing so, he failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of others.

• Third, and most ominously, Dr. Mitchell himself tortured prisoners held in U.S. custody and directly supervised others who engaged in torture at his direction.

Larry James

Said Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, counsel for Ohio complainants Michael Reese, Dr. Trudy Bond, Rev. Colin Bossen and Josie Setzler:

… Ohio-licensee Dr. Larry C. James [is the] former Chief Psychologist of the intelligence command at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Despite the prison’s record of torture during his tenure, Dr. James obtained an Ohio psychology license in 2008 and currently holds the influential post of Dean at Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology in Dayton.

According to the Ohio complaint, for several months in 2003, and from 2007-2008, Dr. James was the senior psychologist of the Guantánamo BSCT, a small but influential group of mental health professionals whose job it was to advise on and participate in the interrogations, and to help create an environment designed to break down prisoners.

During his tenure at the prison, boys and men were threatened with rape and death for themselves and their family members; sexually, culturally, and religiously humiliated; forced naked; deprived of sleep; subjected to sensory deprivation, over-stimulation, and extreme isolation; short-shackled into stress positions for hours; and physically assaulted. The evidence indicates that abuse of this kind was systemic, that BSCT health professionals played an integral role in its planning and practice, and that Dr. James, in his position of authority, at minimum knew or should have known it was being inflicted. [Read full press release here]

John Leso

Said the Center for Justice Accountability, counsel for New York complainant, Dr. Steven Reisner:

… the Center for Justice and Accountability … call[ed] for an investigation of Dr. John Francis Leso for his participation in abusive interrogation and torture, and for revocation of his psychologist’s license on that basis. …

Dr. Leso, a Major in the U.S. Army, led the first team of mental health professionals tasked with supporting interrogation operations at the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The complaint alleges that Dr. Leso violated professional standards for New York psychologists when he recommended a series of escalating physically and psychologically abusive interrogation tactics to be used on detainees, personally supervised interrogations where his tactics were used, and actually participated in the application of these tactics. Many of the techniques and conditions that Dr. Leso helped put in place were applied to men and boys held at Guantánamo and eventually to detainees held in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. [Read full press release here]

The full complaints, released to the public by the complainants, are available here:

• Texas complaint against Dr. James Mitchell
• Ohio complaint against Dr. Larry James
• New York complaint against Dr. John Leso

New York State has an unprecedented opportunity to lead the nation in the fight against torture by helping health professionals resist unethical orders of abuse and holding accountable the health professionals who are complicit in prisoner abuse.

ACT NOW: Sign a petition urging the New York Legislature to pass the bills

NEWS:

(May 2, 2012) Dr. Allen Keller and NYU Center for Health and Human Rights brought a group of 25 health professionals and medical students to advocate for the legislation in Albany, meeting with almost 30 Assembly and Senate offices. Article here from Legislative Gazette.

(January 4, 2012) The New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm has introduced a Resolution 1189-2012 to support this legislation. Residents of New York City, please reach out to your council members and tell them to pass this resolution!

THE BILLS:

Senate Bill S 6795-2011 (Sponsored by Senator Thomas Duane)
Assembly Bill A5891-2011 (Sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In April 2009, the Bush administration’s “torture memos” as well as reports by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that doctors and psychologists have been directly involved in the design, justification, supervision and execution of torture at U.S. military and intelligence facilities. This violates state, federal and international law and professional ethics. (See here)

What is the driving philosophy of this legislation?

The NY Legislation to Help Doctors Prevent Torture, A-5891 sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried and S-6795 sponsored by Senator Tom Duane, is legislation with bi-partisan support that aims to hold healthcare professionals to one of the most basic principles of medical ethics:  do no harm.  It represents the first legislation in the country to explicitly prohibit health professionals licensed in the state from assisting in torture, interrogations, and prisoner abuse, while providing them with strong legal protection to resist any future orders or coercion to participate in such acts. Like all laws dealing with professional misconduct, this legislation would be implemented through the use of licensing fees and does not require funding from the state budget.

What does this legislation do?

• Confirms that NY-licensed health care professionals’ duty to do no harm applies to their professional relationships with all patients and under all employers
• Reaffirms that health care professionals licensed in New York are prohibited from involvement in torture or other abuse of prisoners, wherever that abuse takes place
• Removes NY-licensed health care professionals from interrogations
• Empowers NY-licensed health care professionals to resist unlawful orders that could place them at risk of criminal prosecution and civil damages lawsuits, and/or allows those professionals to safely report the orders in the aftermath

Why is this legislation necessary?

As revealed in the 2004 CIA Inspector General’s report and other official documents, health professionals helped design, monitor, and justify the use of torture on detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram airbase, included waterboarding, sensory deprivation, isolation, forced nudity, stress positions, slapping and tackling, mock executions, threatening detainee’s family, and threatening detainee with guns, guard dogs, and power drills.

Health care professionals who participate in these kinds of abhorrent acts thereby commit grave violations of their professional standards and ethics.  A doctor who oversees waterboarding or a psychologist who advises on how to break down the psyche of a prisoner has severely compromised their integrity and should not enjoy the privilege of practicing their profession in the State of New York.

The State is the appropriate venue for such legislation given that in order for U.S. health professionals to practice anywhere (domestically or internationally) they must have a State-issued License.

This legislation is necessary to protect prisoners, patients, and the professions from those health care professionals who would use their special skill and training to harm others.

LEARN MORE:

• Sponsor’s memo
• “Do No Harm” New York Times Endorsement
• The Case of Major John Leso
• PHR Report: Experiments in Torture (June 2010)
• PHR Report: Aiding Torture (August 2009)
• “Doctors of the Dark Side” Documentary
• Supporting organizations and leaders

NEW YORK RESIDENTS TAKE ACTION:

Send an email to your Assemblymember and State Senator, asking them to support the “Duane-Gottfried NY Legislation to Help Doctors Prevent Torture.”

• Look up your NY State Assemblymember
• Look up your NY State Senator

ORGANIZATIONS TAKE ACTION:

• Submit a letter in support of the legislation to yang-yang.zhou@nyumc.org. Click on the links below to see examples by current supporters.

Supporting Organizations:

Professional Associations

• American College of Physicians, NY Chapter
• American Psychoanalytic Association
• Correctional Association of NY
• NY State Society of Physician’s Assistants
• NY State Psychological Association
• NY State Nurses Association
• NY State Nurse Practitioner Association
• National Association of Social Workers, NY State Chapter
• National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter
• New York University Post-Doctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
• William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• National Physicians Alliance
• American Medical Student Association
• Committee of Interns and Residents
• The Legal Aid Society
• DC-37, New York City’s Largest Public Employee Union
• 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East

Human Rights Organizations

• Amnesty International
• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Physicians for Human Rights
• Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School
• New York Civil Liberties Union
• The Fortune Society
• Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition
• I Have A Dream Foundation, New York Metro Area
• Human Rights First
• New York State Defenders Justice Fund
• Gay Men’s Health Crisis
• Refuge Media Project

Religious Organizations

• New York Province of the Society of Jesus
• Metro New York Religious Campaign Against Torture
• The American Friends Service Committee
• Catholic Migration Office

Larry James, JTF-GTMO 2008

State Psychology Board Challenged over Refusal to Investigate Alleged Ethical Violations by Dr. Larry James

May 12, 2010, Baton Rouge and New York – Today, Toledo-based psychologist Dr. Trudy Bond challenged the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists’ failure to investigate alleged professional ethics violations by psychologist and retired U.S. Army colonel Dr. Larry C. James.  The case centers on Dr. James’s conduct as a high-ranking psychologist and interrogations advisor for the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay.  A New Orleans native and former Louisiana State University employee, Dr. James is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Ohio, where he is now Dean of the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University.

Attorneys argued before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal in the case Dr. Trudy Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. 

According to his own statements and government records, Dr. James played an influential role in both the policy and day-to-day operations of interrogations and detention at the prison camps. Publicly-available information shows that while Dr. James was the chief intelligence psychologist at Guantanamo, abuse in interrogations was widespread, and cruel and inhuman treatment was official policy.  

Allegations of abuse during Dr. James’s January to May 2003 deployment include beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful forced body positions. Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, who is currently being tried by military commission at Guantanamo, is one of the prisoners who has alleged brutal treatment in the spring of 2003, when he was only 16 years old. James was also stationed in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 and returned to Guantanamo in 2007.

As Chief Psychologist of the Joint Intelligence Group and a senior member of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) at Guantanamo, Dr. James, operating under his Louisiana license, also had access to the confidential medical records of people he was charged with exploiting for intelligence.

In compliance with her ethical obligation to report abuse by other psychologists, in February 2008 Dr. Bond filed a complaint against Dr. James before the Board, the agency that issued and regulates his Louisiana license. Dr. Bond alleged that Dr. James breached professional ethics by violating his duties to do no harm, to protect confidential information and to obtain informed consent.  She called on the Board to investigate and determine if action should be taken against Dr. James.  

The Board, charged with enforcing the state’s professional standards and conducting official investigations when unethical conduct is suspected, summarily refused to investigate Dr. Bond’s complaint, claiming that the statute of limitations had run, despite conclusive information to the contrary. Dr. Bond then filed suit against the Board in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court, which in July 2009 dismissed her case without looking at the merits.

Attorneys argued today before the First Circuit Court in Baton Rouge that the District Court should have reviewed the Board’s incorrect legal decision.

Said Dr. Bond, “Dr. James’s job at Guantanamo was to advise interrogators on how to physically and emotionally break men and children. This was not only illegal, but a gross perversion of a healing art.  Psychologists, whether or not they’re in uniform, may not make a weapon out of their license to heal.”

Said CCR Cooperating Attorney Deborah Popowski, “The Louisiana psychology board has a legal duty to protect the public, and it failed to meet that obligation.  That it offered clearly erroneous grounds for its decision only adds insult to injury.  We believe the Court of Appeal will recognize the long-established role of Louisiana courts in checking an agency when it goes so far astray.”

Said Loyola University law professor Davida Finger, “The risk of harm to vulnerable populations in Louisiana could be great if courts leave patients with no remedy when professional boards refuse to investigate credible complaints of misconduct.”

On February 22 of this year, Professor Davida Finger of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law filed an amicus brief on behalf of New Orleans-based organizations the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies and the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, as well as the national groups Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Psychoanalysis for Social Responsibility, and Psychologists for an Ethical APA.

CCR has led the legal battle over Guantanamo for the last eight years – sending the first ever habeas attorney to the base and sending the first attorney to meet with a former CIA “ghost detainee” there. CCR has been responsible for organizing and coordinating more than 500 pro bono lawyers across the country in order to represent the men at Guantanamo, ensuring that nearly all have the option of legal representation. In addition, CCR has been working to resettle the approximately 50 men who remain at Guantánamo because they cannot return to their country of origin for fear of persecution and torture.

Larry James, JTF-GTMO 2008

State Psychology Board Challenged over Refusal to Investigate Alleged Ethical Violations by Dr. Larry James

October 15, 2009, Baton Rouge, La. and New York -  Attorneys filed an appeal before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, in the case Dr. Trudy Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. Toledo-based psychologist Dr. Trudy Bond is calling on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners to investigate Louisiana psychologist and retired U.S. Army colonel Dr. Larry C. James, a former high-ranking advisor on interrogations for the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

According to his own statements, Dr. James played an influential role in both the policy and day-to-day operations of interrogations and detention at the prison camps.  Publicly-available information shows that while Dr. James was at Guantanamo, abuse in interrogations was widespread, and cruel and inhuman treatment was official policy.

Allegations of abuse during Dr. James’s January to May 2003 deployment include beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful body positions. Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, who is still imprisoned in Guantanamo, is one of the prisoners who has alleged brutal treatment in the spring of 2003, when he was only 16 years old. James was also stationed in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 and returned to Guantanamo in 2007. In 2008, he was named Dean of the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

In compliance with her ethical obligation to report abuse by other psychologists, in February 2008 Dr. Bond filed a complaint against Dr. James before the Board, the agency that issued and now regulates his psychology license. Dr. Bond alleged that Dr. James breached professional ethics by violating psychologists’ duties to do no harm, to protect confidential information and to obtain informed consent, and she called on the Board to investigate whether action should be taken against Dr. James.

As Chief Psychologist of the Joint Intelligence Group and a senior member of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) at Guantanamo, Dr. James had access to the confidential medical records of people he was charged with exploiting for intelligence. According to former Guantanamo interrogators, BSCTs used information from patients’ records to help interrogators increase the patients’ psychological duress, including by exploiting their fears. The very purpose of these mental health professional teams, the interrogators said, was to help “break” the prisoners. Dr. James denies that claim, but an extensive government paper trail supports the interrogators’ accounts.

The Board summarily refused to investigate Dr. Bond’s complaint, claiming that the statute of limitations had run, despite conclusive information to the contrary. Dr. Bond then filed suit against the Board in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court, which in July 2009 dismissed her case without looking at the merits. Today’s brief before the First Circuit Court in Baton Rouge argues that the District Court should have reviewed the Board’s clearly wrong legal decision.

Said Dr. Bond, “The five psychologists on the Louisiana Board were given plenty of credible evidence, but they chose not to investigate the head intelligence psychologist of prison camps notorious for their use of psychological torture.  I don’t think Louisiana lawmakers intended to give five fellow professionals total, unchecked power to make arbitrary decisions that deeply affect the public welfare.”

Said CCR Cooperating Attorney Deborah Popowski, “The Louisiana Board is fighting awfully hard to turn a blind eye to serious allegations of abuse.  We wish the Board would devote its resources to investigating unethical conduct instead. Everyone, including the people of Louisiana, would be better served.”

CCR has led the legal battle over Guantanamo for the last six years – sending the first ever habeas attorney to the base and sending the first attorney to meet with a former CIA “ghost detainee” there. CCR has been responsible for organizing and coordinating more than 500 pro bono lawyers across the country in order to represent the men at Guantanamo, ensuring that nearly all have the option of legal representation. In addition, CCR has been working to resettle the approximately 60 men who remain at Guantánamo because they cannot return to their country of origin for fear of persecution and torture.

CONTACT: press@ccrjustice.org

RESOURCES

Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

• Bond Appeal Brief
• Earlier court documents
• Media backgrounder
• Timeline of events

Call for War Crimes Investigation

• Letter to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety
• Letter sent to James H. Bray, President of the American Psychological Association

Evidence

• List of documents supporting call for investigation
  
• Documents supporting call for investigation

Larry James, JTF-GTMO 2008

Legal Battle Continues Against Louisiana Psychology Board for Refusing to Investigate Professional Misconduct Allegations Against Dr. Larry James

August 6, 2009, Ottawa and New York – Human rights organizations are calling on the Canadian government to investigate retired U.S. Army colonel and psychologist Dr. Larry C. James, a former high-ranking advisor on interrogations for the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay. According to his own statements, Dr. James played an influential role in both the policy and day-to-day operations of interrogations and detention at the base. Publicly-available information suggests that while Dr. James was at Guantanamo in the spring of 2003, abuse in interrogations was widespread and cruel treatment was official policy.

Responding to reports that he would travel to Toronto this week, the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sent a joint letter yesterday to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety requesting an investigation into whether Dr. James had a role in war crimes or torture at Guantanamo Bay in 2003. Dr. James, who currently serves as the President of the American Psychological Association’s Division 19 for Military Psychology is expected to attend the APA’s Convention beginning today in Toronto.

Also today, a motion for appeal was filed in Louisiana, in the case Dr. Trudy Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (LSBEP). In compliance with her ethical obligation to report abuse by other psychologists, Dr. Bond, a Toledo-based psychologist, filed a complaint against Dr. James before the LSBEP, the agency that issued and now regulates his psychology license. Dr. Bond alleged that Dr. James breached professional ethics by violating psychologists’ duties to obtain informed consent, to protect confidential information and to do no harm. As Chief Psychologist of the Joint Intelligence Group and a senior member of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) at Guantanamo, Dr. James had access to the confidential medical records of people he was charged with exploiting for intelligence. Reports issued after his departure alleged that BSCTs used information from patients’ records to help identify physical and mental vulnerabilities of detainees for the purposes of interrogation. Dr. James denies that claim.

Following the LSBEP’s summary dismissal of the complaint without investigation, Dr. Bond filed suit against the LSBEP in Louisiana’s 19^th Judicial District Court, which dismissed her case last month. Today’s motion signals Dr. Bond’s intention to continue her pursuit of accountability at the state appellate level.

Allegations of abuse during Dr. James’ January to May 2003 deployment include beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful body positions. Canadian citizen Omar Khadr is one of the prisoners who has alleged brutal treatment in the spring of 2003 when he was only 16 years old.

Based on this information, the CCIJ and CCR called on the Canadian government to investigate whether action should be taken against Dr. James or other attendees of the APA Convention who may have been involved in abuse of detainees.

The organizations have appealed to Canadian officials because the United States government, despite the change in administration, has failed to take proper steps to investigate people in positions of military, intelligence and political leadership who may have been involved in crimes related to the torture and abuse of detainees.

Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act gives the federal government power to prosecute war crimes regardless of where they were committed if the alleged perpetrator is later present in Canada. A similar provision of the Criminal Code applies to crimes of torture.

Said CCIJ Legal Coordinator Matt Eisenbrandt, “Any time there is credible information that someone on Canadian soil may have been involved in torture or war crimes, the Canadian government should investigate. The fact that a Canadian citizen says he was abused during the time Dr. James was at Guantanamo only makes the case stronger for the government to conduct a full inquiry into the evidence.”

Said CCR Fellow Deborah Popowski, “”The Louisiana Board should investigate Larry James to find out whether he hurt people using the license it issued him to heal. No one can afford to ignore evidence that a psychologist may have been complicit in torture. When politics trump the rule of law, everyone suffers: survivors of torture, the health profession, and all patients.”

James was also stationed in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 and returned to Guantanamo in 2007.

For more information on the involvement of health professionals in torture and abuse visit the Center for Constitutional Rights website www.whenhealersharm.org.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

The Canadian Centre for International Justice/Centre Canadian pour la justice internationale (www.ccij.ca) is a charitable organization that works with survivors of genocide, torture and other atrocities to seek redress and bring perpetrators to justice.

CONTACT: press@ccrjustice.org

RESOURCES

• The CCR/CCIJ letter to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety
• Cover letter sent to James H. Bray, President of the American Psychological Association
• Media backgrounder on Larry James and the Bond vs. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists case
• List of sources on Larry James, also available as a single PDF document
• Court documents on Bond vs. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
• Timeline of events: Bond vs. LSBEP

Download all the documents in a complete PDF file here

A. Larry James:

A1. Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib
Date: 2008
Authors: Col. (ret.) Larry C. James (and Gregory A. Freeman) at 35, 36, 49, 32, 50-51, 62, 63, 63-65

B. Survivor testimony:

B1. Affadavit of Omar Ahmed Khadr, submitted in Omar Ahmed Khadr v. The Prime Minister of Canada, et al
Date: 2008
Citations: para 56-57, para 59.

C. Government Records:

C1. Senate Armed Services Report: Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in US Custody
Date: November 2008
Pages: 39 (note 277), 128-129, 132-135

C2. Commander’s Inquiry, Allegation of Inhumane Treatment of [redacted]
Date: May 3, 2003
Pages: 1318-1319, 1335-1337, 1365

C3. Draft Memo on BSCT Standard Operating Procedures
Date: November 2002
Citations: para. 4(a), 4(d), 4(e).

C4. Memo on BSCT Standard Operating Procedures
Date: November 2004
Citations: para. 3(a)

C5. Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures
Date: March 2003
Citations: 4.3, 8.1-8.8

C6. Email discussing Guantanamo [parties redacted]
Date: July 31, 2005

C7. Memo from Jay Bybee for John Rizzo
Date: August 2002
Subject: Interrogation of al Qaeda Operative

D. Law:

D1. Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act
Source: Sections 6(3) and 7(1).

D2. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Source: Article 8.

D3. Criminal Code
Source: Section 269.1(2-3).

E. Web:

E1. Canadian Department of Justice War Crimes Program Website

E2. American Psychological Association Website: About

E3. American Psychological Association Website: Society for Military Psychology Leadership list

F. Secondary Sources:

F1. OLC Memos Confirm Integral Role of Health Professionals in US Torture
Date: Apr. 16, 2009
Author: Physicians for Human Rights

***

Download all the documents in a complete PDF file here.

***

Related: Bond vs. Louisiana Board of Examiners of Psychologists

• Media backgrounder
• Timeline
• Court documents

[B6, B4, B1, C1, D3] Dates: June 2002—mid-January 2003

[B1, C1, D3] Position: Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) psychologist with the Interrogation Control Element (ICE) of JTF-GTMO.

[B6, B4, B1, C1, D3]

Reported Involvement: Dr. John Leso was the first BSCT psychologist at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (GTMO), and while in this role, he participated in the torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment [A1, B4, D2, B13] of Mohammed al Qahtani. [A1, B1, B5] A DoD log of the interrogation of Mr. al Qahtani shows that Dr. Leso observed at least two abusive interrogation sessions and, on at least one occasion, advised the interrogators on how to increase Mr. al Qahtani’s suffering.[B4]

It is not yet publicly known whether he participated in other sessions in which Mr. al Qahtani was abused, but draft BSCT policies and statements by his colleagues suggest that the question warrants further investigation. [B7, D5, D6]

Also worthy of further investigation is the question of whether, as a BSCT charged with supporting the GTMO task force’s interrogation mission, Dr. Leso participated in the interrogation of other detainees during his time at GTMO. [B7, D1, C1] This question is vital to determine whether he was involved in the abusive treatment of other men and boys interrogated at GTMO between June 2002 and January 2003. [D5, A2, B12]

Additionally, Dr. Leso – a clinical psychologist with no training in interrogation prior to arriving at GTMO – helped craft a policy of torture at GTMO by designing psychologically and physically abusive interrogation techniques and detention conditions. Together with psychiatrist Dr. Paul Burney, Dr. Leso co-wrote a draft interrogation policy memo for GTMO that incorporated illegal techniques adapted from methods used by the Chinese and North Korean governments against American prisoners of war. Their memo eventually formed the basis for a memo signed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in December 2, 2002, in which the Secretary authorized at least eleven abusive interrogation techniques that were similar or identical to the ones presented by Drs. Leso and Burney. [B1, B6, B8, B9, B10, B11, B6] Many of the techniques and conditions that Dr. Leso helped put in place were applied to Mr. al Qahtani [B4, B1] and many of the men and boys held at GTMO. [B1, D5] Eventually, similar techniques were also used on prisoners held in Department of Defense custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. [B1]

To date, no criminal, civil, administrative or professional ethics sanctions have been imposed on Dr. Leso.

The Psychologist: Dr. John Leso is a clinical psychologist who was sent to GTMO to provide care to U.S. personnel suffering from deployment-related stress. Prior to deploying to Cuba with the Army’s 85th Medical Detachment Combat Stress Control Team from Fort Hood, Texas, [B1, C1] Dr. Leso had no training related to interrogation. He had worked in the Department of Psychology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. under the supervision of Dr. Larry C. James. [E1, E2, D3, C1] He received a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, [B1, E1, E2] and he completed his doctoral training with a residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where he specialized in bilingual psychotherapy and assessment. [E2] In January 2003, Dr. James replaced him as the GTMO BSCT psychologist, and Dr. Leso returned to Walter Reed to assume the role of Chief of Clinical Psychology. [E2] By August 2005, he had left D.C. for the U.S. Embassy in Austria. [E2] As recently as 2007, he was reported to be stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, home to the Army Aviation’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) school. [E4] Whether he is currently a SERE psychologist is not publicly known. If he is, then his tasks could include ensuring that SERE trainers (mock interrogators) do not cause military trainees (mock captives) lasting harm.

The issuing authority for Dr. Leso’s license to practice as a psychologist is the New York State Office of the Professions. He holds an active license in New York state (#013492, issued in May 1998), where he is registered to practice through July 31, 2012. [E3] Dr. Leso is also a member of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Criminal Investigation/Sanction: None.

NY Professional Misconduct Investigation/Sanction: None. A psychologist filed a complaint against Dr. Leso on April 5, 2007 with the NY State Education Department’s Office of Professional Discipline. The Director of Investigations rejected the complaint via telephone claiming that the office lacked jurisdiction over the matter, without reference to any law or regulation in support of the Office’s decision. On February 29, 2008, the complainant asked for a written decision stating that NYOPD would not investigate. To date, NYOPD has not responded.

APA Investigation/Sanction: None. At least four complaints have been filed before the Ethics Committee of the APA.

Public Accountability: Health professionals, human rights groups and other concerned individuals have organized behind efforts by NY state legislators Richard Gottfried and Tom Duane to amend New York law to make it easier to sanction New York-licensed health professionals for torture and abuse, wherever the conduct occurs. While we believe that Dr. Leso’s conduct in particular is prohibited by existing NY law, CCR hopes that the Gottfried-Duane Anti-Torture bill, by bringing NY law in line with international norms and professional standards will help deter such conduct, protect health professionals who refuse to obey unlawful orders and send a clear message to the NY disciplinary boards of their duty under the law.

See detailed evidence here.

Torture is a Crime

Torture, attempted torture, and conspiracy to commit torture are all crimes under the Federal Torture Statute and the War Crimes Act (along with, e.g., cruel or inhuman treatment, performing biological experiments, rape, sexual assault or abuse, murder, mutilation or maiming, or intentionally causing bodily injury).

Under international law, torture is one of the few crimes considered so egregious that there is universal jurisdiction for it, meaning any state in the world can prosecute a torturer, no matter where the crime was committed. In the words of a landmark U.S. ruling with regard to civil liability for torture, “the torturer has become–like the pirate and slave trader before him–hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind.”  Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876, 890 (CA2 1980).

The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a legally binding document signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and ratified in 1994, defines torture as:

any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

CAT also prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Additionally, Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits torture as well as acts of “violence to life and person, in particular … cruel treatment … outrages upon personal dignity, [and] in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.” Common Article 3 further provides that those not actively taking part in hostilities, such as persons in detention “shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.” The U.S. Supreme Court, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006), determined that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applied to detainees from the U.S. conflict with Al Qaeda.

Torture is Unethical

It is a gross contravention of medical ethics, as well as an offence under applicable international instruments, for health personnel, particularly physicians, to engage, actively or passively, in acts which constitute participation in, complicity in, incitement to or attempts to commit torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

United Nations Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1982)

The doctor shall not countenance, condone or participate in the practice of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading procedures, whatever the offence of which the victim of such procedures is suspected, accused or guilty, and whatever the victim’s beliefs or motives, and in all situations, including armed conflict and civil strife.

World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Tokyo (1975)

Physicians must oppose and must not participate in torture for any reason. Participation in torture includes, but is not limited to, providing or withholding any services, substances, or knowledge to facilitate the practice of torture. Physicians must not be present when torture is used or threatened.

Physicians may treat prisoners or detainees if doing so is in their best interest, but physicians should not treat individuals to verify their health so that torture can begin or continue. Physicians who treat torture victims should not be persecuted. Physicians should help provide support for victims of torture and, whenever possible, strive to change situations in which torture is practiced or the potential for torture is great.

AMA Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 2.067

Nurses abstain from using their nursing knowledge and skills in any manner, which violates the rights of detainees and prisoners.

International Council of Nurses (ICN)
Position Statement on Nurses’ Role in the Care of Detainees and Prisoners (1975, 1998, and 2006)

Whereas torture is an abhorrent practice in every way contrary to the APA’s stated mission of advancing psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare. …

Be it resolved that psychologists may not work in settings where persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the US Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights.

American Psychological Association (APA) Petition Resolution (passed by referendum in 2008)

Links

International Law

• United Nations Convention against Torture
• Geneva Conventions
  • The First Convention – wounded and sick members of the armed forces in the field
  • The Second Convention – wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of the armed forces at sea as well as shipwreck victims
  • The Third Convention – prisoners of the war
  • The Fourth Convention – civilians in times of war
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

U.S. Criminal Law

• Torture Statute
• War Crimes Act

U.S. Civil Law

• Torture Victim Protection Act
• Alien Tort Statute

State Licensing Laws and Regulations

• NY
  • Physicians
  • Psychologists
    • Psychologists–Laws
      
    • Psychologists–Rules
      
    • Psychologists–Regulations

More coming soon. For full list of psychology licensing laws and licensing boards in the United States, see Ken Pope’s excellent index.

Professional Ethics Standards

• UN Principles of Medical Ethics
• WMA Declaration of Tokyo
• ICN Nurses’ Role in the Care of Detainees and Prisoners
• AMA Principles of Medical Ethics
  • AMA Opinion 2.067 (Torture)
  • AMA Opinion 2.068 (Physician Participation in Interrogation)
• Am. Psychiatric Association Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry
• ANA Code of Nursing Ethics
• Am. Psychological Association (APA) Policies and Actions Related to Detainee Welfare and Professional Ethics in the Context of Interrogation and National Security

See Ken Pope’s Index of Domestic Codes and Practice