'CIA interrogation involved sleep deprivation,rectal feeding'

WASHINGTON: CIA's interrogation techniques in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks included mock executions, nudity, sleep deprivation, rectal feeding and "hard" takedowns among others, according to an explosive Senate Intelligence Committee report.

The report issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee is a damning condemnation of the tactics -- branded by critics as torture -- the George W Bush administration deployed in the fear-laden days after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

It contains grisly details of detainees held in secret overseas facilities being subjected to near drowning, or waterboarding, driven to delirium by days of sleep deprivation, threatened with mock executions and threats to their relatives.

The CIA conducted at least two mock executions -- among other techniques that went unreported in the agency's cables. Others included "nudity, dietary manipulation, exposure to cold temperatures, cold showers," and rough takedowns, the report says.

In another passage, the mock executions are included in a section that also mentions techniques like "placing pressure on a detainee's artery... blowing cigarette or cigar smoke into a detainee's face, using cold water to interrogate detainees, and subjecting a detainee to a 'hard takedown'."

Those "rough" or "hard" takedowns involved CIA officers rushing into a detainee's cell, stripping him naked and running him up and down a long hall while slapping and punching him.

"As they ran him along the corridor, a couple of times he fell and they dragged him through the dirt," the report says.

The report, one of the most extensive detailing of the CIA's brutal interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects yet, said the "enhanced interrogation" programmes in many cases amounted to torture.

Running into about 500 pages, the report is the most detailed analysis yet of the CIA's activities, containing information about the secret detention of at least 119 people and practices.

As the report was released, President Barack Obama admitted that the CIA's actions did significant damage to the American standing in the world and were "contrary to our values."

The CIA often used sleep deprivation, which "involved keeping detainees awake for up to 180 hours, usually standing or in stress positions, at times with their hands shackled above their heads."

"At least five CIA detainees were subjected to 'rectal rehydration' or rectal feeding without documented medical necessity," the report said.