Withheld due to: by cpress

1 The knee pictured above belonged to Iraqi Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush, who was imprisoned, tortured, and killed by American forces near Al Qaim, Iraq, in November 2003. While U.S. officials initially reported that Mowhoush died of natural causes, the subsequent Army investigation revealed that his interrogators had fatally suffocated him in a sleeping bag.3 Mowhoush’s death was determined to be a homicide, but his murderer was given only a reprimand.4

while handcuffed.11 The still-secret abuse photos are just a fraction of the evidence of wrongdoing the government is continuing to suppress. In a further ongoing legal battle, the ACLU is pressing the government to release the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s 7000page classified report detailing the Senate’s investigation into the CIA torture program. An executive summary of the report, made public in December 2014, makes clear that the full report constitutes the most thorough and complete record of abuse. *** The ACLU has fought so long for the release of these photos because history has repeatedly illustrated the unique power that images have to galvanize public attention. Photographs provided the world with the first irrefutable evidence of the George W. Bush administration’s use of torture during the U.S.-led war on terror. One of the most well known

1 “First ACLU FOIA Request, Oct. 7, 2003,” www.aclu.org/legal-document/first-aclufoia-request. 2 “The Torture Database, ACLU,” www.thetorturedatabase.org/ 3 Michael Howard, “Ex-Iraqi General Dies in US Custody,” The Guardian, November 28, 2003, www.theguardian.com/world/2003/nov/28/ iraq.michaelhoward. 4 Josh White, “Army Interrogator Reprimanded in Iraqi’s Death,” The Washington Post, January 24, 2006, www.washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/ AR2006012301967.html. 5 “CID Report (Death): 0237-03-CID25961219,” The Torture Database, October 16, 2004, www.thetorturedatabase.org/document/ cid-report-death-0237-03-cid259-61219?search_ url=search/apachesolr_search/009482. 6 John McChesney, “The Death of an Iraqi Prisoner,” NPR, October 27, 2005, www.npr.org/ templates/story/story.php?storyId=4977986 7 “CID Report: 0176-2004-CID259-80265,” The Torture Database, November 11, 2005, www.thetorturedatabase.org/document/ cid-report-0176-2004-cid259-80265?search_ url=search/apachesolr_search/054697. 8 The Constitution Project, “The Report of the Constitution’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment,” 2013, http://detaineetaskforce.org/read/. 9 “CID Report: 0180-04-CID259-80227,” The Torture Database, July 28, 2004, www.thetorturedatabase.org/document/ cid-report-0180-04-cid259-80227?search_ url=search/apachesolr_search/001248. 10 “Army Criminal Charge Sheet Re: Mock Execution of a Detainee,” The Torture Database, August 28, 2003, www.thetorturedatabase.org/ document/army-criminal-charge-sheetre-mock-execution-detainee?search_url=search/ apachesolr_search/003109.

of documents—all publically available in the ACLU’s Torture Database—that the government was forced to release to them over the past decade.2 1

which photos were redacted or withheld. The brutal stories behind these missing images make it clear that the government is still attempting to conceal the worst evidence of its past abuses. Among the approximately 1800 photos the government is continuing to keep secret are pictures related to the case of a seventy-three-year-old Iraqi woman, who was captured and taken by helicopter to a U.S. detention facility, where she was sexually abused and assaulted. According to the government’s investigative report, the female detainee was “made to crawl around on all fours as a ‘large man rode’ on her,” striking her with a stick and calling her an animal. Other withheld photos depict an Iraqi teenager bound and standing in the headlights of a truck immediately after his mock execution by U.S. soldiers.10 Yet another shows the body of Muhamad Husain Kadir, an Iraqi farmer, shot dead at point-blank range by an American soldier

months later, he undermined his own order by granting legal immunity to all officials who had acted in accordance with the Bush administration’s interpretation of the laws governing detention and interrogation.14 Many argue that Obama’s failure to hold any U.S. officials criminally accountable for devising, authorizing, or implementing the torture program leaves the door open to abuse under future administrations. Politicians’ policy positions are fickle; they come and go, blown by political winds, but photos create a record that is permanent. If the United States is to ensure that it never tortures again, it must come to terms with the worst evidence of its own abuse.

Eliza Relman works in independent media in New York City. She was formerly a paralegal with the ACLU’s National Security Project. Prior to her work at the ACLU, Eliza was a teaching fellow at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh, where she worked as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.

What should these images prove?

Did those depicted want to be photographed?

Do they prove something?

Would they want me to see these images?

How trustworthy is preselected evidence? Whom does it help? Does it help to understand it?

How intimate are these images? Do I feel ashamed about people or institutions? If yes, why?

Do I need to understand it? Do I want to know the story behind the images?

What do I feel when I look at these images?

Do I need to know the story behind the images?

How much do I need to feel in order to understand them?

Do these images need a story or are they a story?

How much do I need to understand in order to feel?

What do the published images say about the withheld images?

Can I understand, despite not having a personal connection?

Does a censored transparency still create transparency? How much transparency can the population deal with? And how much transparency can government authorities handle? Can information be treacherous? Are these images treacherous? What is revealed?

While viewing the images, am I complicit? Am I disgusted, so as not to feel complicit? Does my disgust keep me from finding an honest way of dealing with what I have seen?

Have I ever laughed while watching someone suffer? Did I laugh because others were laughing? Can laughter be an outlet? Be frightening? Create distance? Can images shock, despite not showing anything shocking? What do I feel when I look at an isolated part of the body? Would I feel differently if I saw the whole body? Do I want to see more? If so, do I feel ashamed of this? When I look at a strangerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, do I think about my own body? Do these images illustrate violence? If so, do they correspond with my idea of violence? From whom and from where do I have my perspective on violence? Is there such a thing as necessary violence?

Can violent action be deemed legitimate because of certain circumstances or because of a need to gather information? Can one get used to violence? Is violence contagious? Why do I act differently in a group, doing things that I would never do alone? When do I use violence? Does it give me satisfaction? Would I use violence if I felt threatened? Do I feel threatened when I am not the most powerful one in a given situation? Does might make right? When is power violent? Does power need violence? What would I do to obtain more power? If I had the power to stop violence, would I intervene? Even if it were against the will of the majority? Why not?

“The old world is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” Antonio Gramsci

Withheld due to: Concept/Editing: Christof Nüssli Texts: Eliza Relman (Introduction) Christof Nüssli (Questions) Production/Lithography: typosalon Copyediting: Linda Jensen (Introduction) Yvonne Eisenring (Questions) Translation: Linda Jensen Proofreading: Jason A. Goldsmith Lindsay Blair Howe Linda Jensen Printing: Graphius (Ghent) First edition: 500 copies Publisher: cpress (Zurich), cpress.ch ISBN 978-3-9524710-0-5

Supported by: Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council Kanton Zürich Fachstelle Kultur Stadt Zürich Kultur Volkart Foundation Acknowledgments: Yvonne Eisenring Severin Egli Anna Goetz Matthias Gubler Bardhi Haliti ISR Fellows 15/16 Linda Jensen Nadja Kirchhofer Anouk Kruithof Karin Sarah Ley Gianna Molinari Nüsslis Christoph Oeschger Erica Preli Eliza Relman Fabienne Ruppen Gabi Schwegler Contents: This 404-page book contains 324 pages of images and 56 pages of files.

Sources: All 198 images in this book have been published by the United States Department of Defense and are reproduced in the order in which they are found in the original 162-page file. The images have been processed for printing, but have otherwise not been modified in any way. The featured files are excerpts of files from various American government agencies. To date, none of the images featured in the files have been published publicly. The entire collection of files, as well as the 198 featured images, can be accessed via the ACLU website (thetorturedatabase.org) and via the United States Department of Defense website (defense.gov). The featured images and files are the work of United States Armed Forces or United States Department of Defense employees. They were taken or made in the line of duty. As a product of the federal government of the United States, the images fall under the public domain of the United States of America. Texts: CC BY creativecommons.org

of documents—all publically Across the of thisTorture book, you available inpages the ACLU’s will see the 198 detainee abuse Database—that the government photos that to were released by the was forced release to them U.S. in February 2016 over government the past decade.2 as the result of years of litigation by the American Civil Liberties 1 Union (ACLU). Most of these images are of body parts—arms, legs, knees, heads —often with injuries. None of the photos are particularly gruesome or shocking, but they are almost certainly the most innocuous of the hundreds of other abuse photos that the U.S. 2 government refuses to release to the public. *** The U.S. government worked hard for more than a decade to keep secret the photos displayed in this book. The fight began in October 2003, about six months before 3

which photos were redacted or CBS NewsThe broke thestories Abu Ghraib withheld. brutal story, when the ACLU, along behind these missing images with several civilgovernment and human make it clearother that the rights organizations, filed a the is still attempting to conceal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) worst evidence of its past abuses. Request for records related to Among the approximately the abuse of U.S. prisoners held 1800 photos the government overseas.1 The FOIA request was is continuing to keep secret are written and filed after several pictures related to the case of news stories had emerged over a seventy-three-year-old Iraqi the preceding months detailing woman, who was captured and several disturbing cases of taken by helicopter to a U.S. prisoner abuse at the hands of detention facility, where she was U.S. officials. The request was sexually abused and assaulted. broad, asking the government According to the government’s to turn over records concerning investigative report, the female the treatment of detainees, detainee was “made to crawl the deaths of detainees in U.S. around on all fours as a ‘large man custody, and the practice rode’ on her,” striking her with a of rendition, which involves stick and calling her an animal. transferring prisoners from Other withheld photos depict U.S. custody to foreign powers an Iraqi teenager bound and known to use torture. standing in the headlights of a In the months after the FOIA truck immediately after his mock request was filed, the government execution by U.S. soldiers.10 Yet another shows the body of Muhamad Husain Kadir, an Iraqi farmer, shot dead at point-blank range by an American soldier

months later, he undermined his refused to release any responsive own order by granting legal records. So, in May 2004, immunity to all officials who had immediately following thethe release acted in accordance with Bush of the Abu Ghraib photos, the administration’s interpretation ACLU sued the government of the laws governing detention in federal court to enforce and interrogation.14 Many its request. This case—ACLU argue that Obama’s failure to v. Department of Defense—is the hold any U.S. officials criminally same one that forced the release accountable for devising, of the photos in 2016. authorizing, or implementing the Over the next several torture program leaves theyears, the ACLU’s litigation led tofuture door open to abuse under the release of more than 100 000 administrations. pages of documents detailing Politicians’ policy positions the U.S. government’s torture are fickle; they come and go, program. internal investigative blown by The political winds, but reports, memos, e-mails, and photos create a record that is other records permanent. If the the government United Stateswas is forced to release prove that to ensure that it never tortures the abuse went far beyond that again, it must come to terms with reported Abu Ghraib. the worstat evidence of itsThe own torture abuse. program was pervasive in American detention facilities

across Iraq, Afghanistan, andin Eliza Relman works in independent media New York City. She was formerly a paralegal Guantánamo Bay, as well as in with the ACLU’s National Security Project. Prior to her work at the ACLU, Eliza was a teaching fellow at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh, where she worked as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.