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CIA 'torture report' release due Calls to reopen CIA abuse cases
(about 8 hours later)
Some classified sections of a CIA report into the torture of US terrorism suspects are due to be made public. The US justice department is calling for some dozen prisoner abuse cases to be reopened, the New York Times says.
US newspapers claim they will reveal the use of mock executions and an electric drill to frighten detainees. The recommendation could lead to the prosecution of CIA employees and contractors over the treatment of terrorism suspects, the newspaper says.
A heavily-censored version of the 2004 internal CIA review was released last year. The call comes as justice officials are set to disclose previously censored parts of a report into detainee abuse.
A US federal judge ordered an edited version to be released on Monday, after a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union. These show how electric drills and mock executions were used by CIA agents to elicit information, US media say.
Lawyers for the US Justice Department and the CIA have been scrutinising the report since June to determine how much of it can be made public. A heavily censored version of the 2004 internal Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report was released last year but in an almost meaningless form because so much remained classified, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from Washington.
Classified sections A federal judge ordered more details to be released on Monday, after a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union (Aclu).
The CIA inspector general's review of the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects was written in 2004. According to US media, the report by the CIA's inspector general details how a gun and an electric drill were brought into an interrogation session of suspected USS Cole bomber and alleged al-Qaeda commander Rahim al-Nashiri in a bid to frighten him.
It was first made public last year but in an almost meaningless form, because so much remained classified, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from Washington. In another case, a gun was fired in another room to lead a detainee to think another suspect had been killed.
Parts of the contents page were obscured, and all of the introduction and the conclusions withheld.
One page was completely black apart from references to "enhanced interrogation techniques" and "the waterboard technique", our correspondent adds.
The US has banned harsh interrogation methods, including death threats.The US has banned harsh interrogation methods, including death threats.
Even under the Bush administration's controversial interpretation of the law, causing "severe mental pain" by the "threat of imminent death" was considered illegal. Even under the Bush administration' controversial interpretation of the law, causing "severe mental pain" by the "threat of imminent death" was considered illegal.
The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, is reported to be considering whether to appoint a prosecutor to investigate alleged abuse by CIA officers. Criminal inquiry
The US department of justice's ethics office has meanwhile called for nearly a dozen alleged prisoner abuse cases, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be reopened, the New York Times reports.
These account for about half the cases that were referred to the justice department by the CIA's inspector general but later closed.
A CIA spokesman told the New York Times that the advice to reopen closed cases had not been sent to the agency.
"Decisions on whether or not to pursue action in court were made after careful consideration by career prosecutors at the justice department. The CIA itself brought these matters - facts and allegations alike - to the department's attention," said Paul Gimigliano.
The recommendations to review some cases, which would reverse Bush administration policy, have been sent to US Attorney General Eric Holder.
He is set to announce soon whether he will appoint a prosecutor to investigate alleged abuse by CIA agents.
It is expected that he will go ahead with a new criminal inquiry.
Such a decision will pose problems for the CIA. It will also have political ramifications given President Barack Obama's desire to leave questions over the Bush administration's interrogation practices in the past, correspondents say.
In another development, Mr Obama has approved the creation of a new unit to question key terrorism suspects, the Washington Post reports.
The unit, called the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, is to be composed of experts from several intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
It will be housed at the FBI but will be overseen by the national Security Council, giving the White House direct oversight, the paper reports.