June 10, 2004
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Rumsfeld 'told officers to take gloves off with Lindh'
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Anne Penketh
10 June 2004
John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, was stripped naked and tied to a stretcher during interrogation after the office of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered intelligence officers to "take the gloves off" when questioning him.
Mr Rumsfeld's legal counsel instructed the officers to push the limits when questioning Lindh.
When Lindh asked for a lawyer, not only was he refused and not advised of his rights, but his interrogators were told to get tough to obtain "actionable" intelligence.
Documents show that when a US Army intelligence officer started to question Lindh he was given instructions that the "Secretary of Defence's counsel has authorised him to 'take the gloves off' and asked whatever he wanted".
Though Lindh initially pleaded not guilty, he later admitted reduced charges and was sentenced to 20 years. He and his lawyers also agreed to drop claims that he had been tortured by US personnel.
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GI Says Fellow Soldiers Beat Him in Cuba Prison
June 10, 2004
A U.S. soldier seeks compensation from the U.S. military for injuries he sustained in beatings allegedly administered by fellow American soldiers at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The soldier was playing the role of a uncooperative detainee in a training exercise; his accused attackers were not informed the incident was staged.
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