The assaults on #September11 represented an attack on the most universal and elementary human rights – the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Yet, 20 years later, we must also question our collective commitment to human rights, accountability, and justice.

After 9/11, the U.S. government carried out an illegal program consisting of brutal physical and psychological torture, designed and often supervised by health professionals – a grave violation of medical ethics. PHR has extensively documented the brutality of this program.

20 years later, the victims of extraordinary rendition and torture are still suffering.

Joined by human rights advocates, the case of one man will be considered before the Supreme Court this fall.

In U.S. v. Abu Zubaydah, SCOTUS will consider if a detainee can obtain information about their torture while in CIA custody at a black site or whether the U.S. government can claim state secrets privilege.

In August, PHR submitted an amicus brief: phr.org/our-work/resou…

Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi national, was detained and tortured at a variety of CIA black sites.

He was water-boarded at least 83 times in one month and subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation, confinement in small boxes, painful stress positions, and blunt force trauma.

Mitchell and Jessen, the CIA contractors that carried out these so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques,”violated moral, ethical, and professional standards in their actions.

“Enhanced interrogation” violates U.S. and international legal prohibitions against torture.

The Guantánamo Bay detention center, which the U.S. has claimed doesn’t fall under international or domestic law, provides another example of the role of U.S. health professionals in detainee torture and abuse in the aftermath of 9/11.

In 2019, we published a report with @cvt_staff detailing the systemic and longstanding deficiencies in health care inside Guantánamo Bay.

POTUS has a real opportunity to show U.S. leadership in human rights by closing #Guantanamo . phr.org/our-work/resou…

If the United States declines to take the steps this report recommends, the remaining detainees (many in their 60s and 70s) are likely to experience more and more complex medical conditions that cannot be managed at Guantánamo.

“To honor the victims and heroes of 9/11, we must recognize the full scope of inhumanity that 9/11 represents and…work together across the lines that divide us, nationally and internationally, to ensure peace, justice, and respect for the dignity of all people.” - Vincent Iacopino

Thank you to all the experts that have worked with PHR to seek justice for victims of torture, including Stephen Soldz Steven Reisner Stephen N. Xenakis Sondra Crosby, MD Vincent Iacopino Allen Keller & many more!