By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – The nations largest organization of psychologists are inquiring into whether it supported the government’s use of torture in the interrogation of prisoners during the Bush administration. The APA inquiry comes after author, James Risen, wrote a book detailing the relationship between psychologists and the Bush administration in the post-9/11 era. The APA has hired David H. Hoffman, a former federal prosecutor, to lead the investigation.

Human rights advocates have raised questions regarding the role of American psychologists in the implementation of Bush-era interrogation programs for years. Critics have said that the participation of psychologist allowed the Bush administration to ague that the interrogation procedures did not constitute torture because trained psychologists were monitoring the interrogations. There are claims that Psychologists were involved in developing enhanced interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects.

The report documents how psychologists consulted with the military under their official role of Behavioral Science Consultation Teams. Their key role was to identify any vulnerability of the detainees. The psychologists were then expected to collaborate with interrogators in exploiting them.

What has led to more criticism is the APA’s 2002 decision to modify its ethics rules which essentially gave psychologists greater coverage in aiding with the interrogations. The most significant change in the APA’s guidelines was a new rule that states that if a psychologist was conflicted between the APA’s ethics code and a lawful order, the psychologists could follow the law. This led many APA members to disapprove of the organization’s decision, as they seen it as essentially giving psychologists permission to ignore ethical concerns if ordered by the government to aid in these interrogations. The list of interrogation methods used is troubling, consisting of: beatings, exposure to extreme cold, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, exposure to prolonged yelling, exploitation of phobias, cramped confinement, prolonged stress positions, forced feeding, deprivation of basic items, and waterboarding.

The APA has long defended its activities against critics who have questioned the ethics of the organization.

 

For more information please see the following:

ALL GOV – American Psychological Association Finally Agrees To Investigate Collusion in Bush Torture Program – 17 Nov. 2014.
THE GUARDIAN – The Dark Side of Psychology in Abuse and Interrogation – 5 Nov. 2013.
THE NEW YORK TIMES – U.N. Commission Presses U.S. on Torture – 13 Nov. 2014.
THE NEW YORK TIMES – Psychologists to Review Role in Detainee Interrogations – 13 Nov. 2014.

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – After the shooting of an African-American teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri and the number of racially charged protests that have risen in its aftermath, the parents of the teen testified Tuesday before a United Nations Committee Against Torture. Currently, citizens of St. Louis and the smaller town of Ferguson are awaiting the grand jury decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed Brown. Last week, the grand jury heard from Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist hired by the Brown family’s attorney to perform an autopsy. This was the third autopsy performed.

 

Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s parents, traveled to Switzerland to testify as part of the delegation of human rights advocates organized by the U.S. Human Rights Network. The Browns made a statement against police brutality and voiced their concerns over the ongoing events in Ferguson. They wished to relay the message to members of the U.N. committee and recommended them to bring an end to racially biased policing tactics and racial-profiling by officers in the Ferguson area. The family also requested a nationwide investigation examining police brutality and harassment in minority communities. The statement released by Brown’s family calls for recommendations that would apply to the entire United States, including the Department of Justice.

The family’s testimony to the committee took place behind closed doors, but a statement released last week says that Brown’s killing and the force used by the police during protests “represent violations of the Convention against Torture….” According to its website, “the Committee Against Torture is the body of 10 independent experts that monito[r] implementation of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties.” Brown’s family hopes that by speaking in Switzerland, the U.N. will expose thee issues to the rest of the world.

On 24 October, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Michael Brown’s family said, “All Michael Brown’s family has asked from day one is equal justice for their son. The concept of due process, this notion of all the law in the legal proceedings being fair for them, just like it is for a police officer.” Lawyers for Officer Wilson have chosen not to speak to the media.

 

For more information, please see the following:

CNN – Michael Brown’s Parents Address U.N.: “We Need the World To Know’ – 12 Nov. 2014.

FOX NEWS – Michael Brown Case: Ferguson Teen’s Parents and Double Standard – 15 Nov. 2014.

HUFFINGTON POST – Michael Brown’s Parents Advocate For Human Rights To U.N. Committee Against Torture – 13 Nov. 2014.

USA TODAY – Michael Brown’s Parents Testify at U.N. Hearing – 12 Nov. 2014.

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unexpectedly ordered the release of two American citizens who spent months imprisoned in North Korea this weekend. Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller were let free following a rare visit to North Korea from a top U.S. official. The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, carried with him a letter from President Barack Obama when meeting with North Koran security officials.

 

Clapper is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Pyongyang in over a decade. As Director of National Intelligence, Clapper oversees the CIA and 15 other intelligence agencies, making his direct involvement in the release of the American citizens surprising. Such missions are normally reserved for diplomatic officials. Clapper went to North Korea with the sole purpose of bringing home both Bae and Miller, and not with the purpose of any other negotiations. Clapper returned to the U.S. on a plane carrying Bae and Miller this past weekend.

Bae, a Koran-American missionary, who was serving a 15-year sentence for alleged anti-government activities, was arrested in November 2012. Due to his failing health condition, the State Department as repeatedly called for his release. Miller, who was jailed on charges of espionage after allegedly tearing apart his passport and demanding asylum, was serving a six-year term. The North Koran government contended that Miller secretly planned to be arrested so as to investigate North Korea’s human rights situation. Bae and Miller were the last Americans held by North Korea.

A U.S. official told CNN that Washington believes Pyongyang reached out to the U.S. to show that it had the power to get a Cabinet-level official to visit the country, which would solidify Kim’s power. Other analysts who study North Korea claim the decision to free the Americans “was a bid by the country to ease pressure in connection with its human rights record.” U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has welcomed the release, especially in the wake of a recent United Nations report which documented rape, torture, executions and forced labor in the prison camps, accusing the North Korean government of gross human rights violations. The Secretary-General’s office stated, “The Secretary-General hopes that this positive momentum for improving relations among the concerned parties for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond will be built on.”

 

For more information, please see the following:

CNN – Two Americans Freed By North Korea Arrive Back in U.S., Reunited With Families – 10 Nov. 2014.

FOX NEWS – Americans released From North Korean Captivity Back On US Soil – 9 Nov. 2014.

REUTERS – Two American Feed by North Korea Are On Their Way Home – 8 Nov. 2014.

USA TODAY – 2 Americans Held Captive In North Korea Arrive Home – 9 Nov. 2014.

 

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Recent reports have surfaced regarding the 43 Mexican students who disappeared from Iguala in September, alleging that police abducted them after receiving an order from a local mayor. The report claims that the students were later turned over to members of the Guerreros Unidos, a local gang, who killed the students and then burned their bodies for 12 hours, before throwing their remains in a river. Human Rights Watch reported that the Mexican government delayed investigations of the disappearances and state prosecutors later sought to cover up the fact by coercing false testimony from witnesses.

The victims who were mostly males in their 20s were studying to become teachers at a college in Ayotzinapa. On 26 September, they disappeared from a protest in Iguala, and have not been seen or heard from since. However, recently three men arrested in connection with the disappearance of the students confessed to having killed a large number of people believed to be the students.

Officials have said that after learning of the students plan to protest, the mayor ordered the Iguala police chief, Felipe Flores Velasquez, to stop the demonstration. The police then confronted the students and forcibly took them to the police station before they were handed over to members of a local gang. The gang then transported the students to a dump where those still alive were questioned and then executed. Members of the Guerreros Unidos told authorities that they burned the victims’ corpses in a landfill and then placed the remained in garbage bags and dumped in the river.

The disappearance of the students sparked protests all across Mexico, which has spread to the capital, criticizing the governor of Guerrero to be criticized for his inaction, forcing him to take a leave of absence. The parents of the students are not satisfied with the recent findings, demanding that the government provide definitive answers. Some parents have even gone as far as to suggest that President Enrique Pena Nieto resign if he is unable to deliver answers to the egregious incidents.

 

For more information, please see the following: 

BLOOMBERG-Mexico finds Evidence 43 Students Murdered by Drug Gangs – 8 Nov. 2014.

CNN – Remains Could be Those of 43 Missing Mexican Students – 8 Nov. 2014.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH – Mexico: Delays, Cover-Up Mar Atrocities Response – 8 Nov. 2014.

NEW YORK TIMES – Drug Gang Killed Students, Mexican Law Official Says – 7 Nov. 2014.

 

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Brittany Maynard, a terminally ill cancer patient, whose story went viral on YouTube, ended her life on Saturday 1 November 2014. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of terminal brain cancer.

Maynard graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and also earned a Masters degree in Education from University of California, Irvine. Maynard and her husband moved from California to Oregon, where assisted-suicide has been legal since 1997. Oregon’s death with Dignity Act allows terminally ill residents to obtain lethal prescriptions from doctors. Four other states, including Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico, allow patients to seek help from their physicians in dying. Since 1997, nearly 1,173 individuals were given a lethal prescription and 752 patients chose to use the medications to end their own lives.

Maynard became a spokeswoman for the “death with dignity” movement, which advocates the proposition that terminally ill patients be able to receive a perception that will allow them to die on their own terms. She received the lethal medication several months ago, and chose to use it on Saturday when she felt “the time [was] right.” A post on her webpage states, “Brittany chose to make a well thought out and informed choice to ‘Die with Dignity’ in the face of such a terrible, painful, and incurable illness.”

Assisted suicide is highly controversial in the United States, and Maynard’s decision came under fire from Christian Campaign groups and others. The Roman Catholic Church opposes assisted suicide, believing that life starts at the moment of conception and should not end until the moment of natural death. A Vatican bioethics official condemned Maynard’s decision calling it an “absurdity.”

 

For more information, please see the following:

BBC – Right-To-Die Advocate Brittany Maynard Ends Life – 3 November 2014.

CNN – Brittany Maynard, Advocate for ‘Death With Dignity,’ Dies – 3 November 2014.

REUTERS – Vatican Official Condemns Maynard Assisted Suicide Case In U.S. – 4 November 2014.

USA TODAY – Brittany Maynard, Right-To-Die Advocate, Ends Her Life – 3 November 2014.