{
  "id": "RL32567",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32567",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 307206,
      "date": "2004-09-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:09:19.992730",
      "title": "Lawfulness of Interrogation Techniques under the Geneva Conventions",
      "summary": "Allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq have\nraised\nquestions about the applicability of the law of war to interrogations for military intelligence\npurposes. Particular issues involve the level of protection to which the detainees are entitled under\nthe Geneva Conventions of 1949, whether as prisoners of war or civilian \"protected persons,\" or\nunder some other status. After photos of prisoner abuse became public, the Defense Department\n(DOD) released a series of internal documents disclosing policy deliberations about the appropriate\ntechniques for interrogating persons the Administration had deemed to be \"unlawful combatants\"\nand who resisted the standard methods of questioning detainees. Investigations related to the\nallegations at Abu Ghraib revealed that some of the techniques discussed for \"unlawful combatants\"\nhad come into use in Iraq, although none of the prisoners there was deemed to be an unlawful\ncombatant. \n  This report outlines the provisions of the Conventions as they apply to prisoners of war and to\ncivilians, and the minimum level of protection offered by Common Article 3 of the Geneva\nConventions. There follows an analysis of key terms that set the standards for the treatment of\nprisoners that are especially relevant to interrogation, including torture, coercion, and cruel, inhuman\nand degrading treatment, with reference to some historical war crimes cases and cases involving the\ntreatment of persons suspected of engaging in terrorism. Finally, the report discusses and analyzes\nsome of the various interrogation techniques approved or considered for use during interrogations\nof prisoners at Abu Ghraib.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32567",
          "sha1": "41d9cabf1f5a09b1bf63fb8ab82748ac0aea9556",
          "filename": "files/20040908_RL32567_41d9cabf1f5a09b1bf63fb8ab82748ac0aea9556.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32567",
          "sha1": "462880f1947fa49df83968234dd375d2523f1e3d",
          "filename": "files/20040908_RL32567_462880f1947fa49df83968234dd375d2523f1e3d.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}