Psychologists asked to ban interrogations

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The ACLU is asking the American Psychological Association to prohibit its members from participating in coercive interrogations.

In a letter to the association, which is holding its annual meeting in San Francisco this weekend, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero says the group has found "troubling evidence of the collusion of medical psychologists in the development and implementation of procedures intended to inflict psychological harm on prisoners at (the U.S. military prison at) Guantanamo Bay and other facilities."

A series of documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed the involvement of Behavioral Science Consultation Teams -- known as "biscuit" teams -- in the development of possibly illegal interrogation techniques for use on detainees at Guantanamo.

Noting that this involvement may create a risk of legal liability for psychologists, Romero adds, "A moratorium on participation in these illegal interrogations would protect individual psychologists as well as the reputation of the profession as a whole."