US Justice Department Considers Criminal Prosecution of Interrogators

A major U.S. newspaper reports the U.S. Justice Department is recommending that some cases of alleged prisoner abuse by the Central Intelligence Agency be pursued in court.

The New York Times cites an unnamed source saying the Office of Professional Responsibility made the recommendation to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. He is now considering whether to appoint a prosecutor to investigate the CIA's interrogation practices during the administration of President George W. Bush.

The move could expose CIA employees and agency contractors to criminal prosecution for alleged mistreatment of terror suspects.

But President Barack Obama has said he wants to leave the issue in the past to avoid getting his administration's agenda bogged down in controversies of the past.

On Monday, the CIA's internal investigator will publish a report with details of the CIA's interrogation techniques under the Bush administration.
The report was written in 2004, but kept secret until now. The American Civil Liberties Union fought for the results to be made public.

Sources who have seen the report say CIA interrogators brandished a gun while questioning one prisoner, Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, the man accused of masterminding an attack on the USS Cole. They also held a power drill near his body, turning it on and off.

In another case, a gunshot was fired in a room next door, to make one suspect believe another detainee had been executed. According to U.S. law, threatening a prisoner with "imminent death" is torture and illegal.

Sources who have seen the report say it suggests that the harsh techniques did not yield useful information.

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