US Central Intelligence Agency interrogators used a handgun and an electric drill to try to frighten a captured Al-Qaeda commander into giving up information, The
Washington Post
reported on Saturday.
Citing a report by the agency's inspector general and unnamed former and current US officials, the newspaper said the tactics were used on Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
Nashiri, who was captured in November 2002 and held for four years in one of the CIA's secret prisons, ultimately became one of three Al-Qaeda leaders subjected to waterboarding, the report said.
A federal judge in New York has ordered a redacted version of the classified IG report to be publicly released Monday, in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the paper said.
The report, written in 2004, offers new details about Nashiri's interrogation, including episodes in which the detainee reportedly was threatened with death or grave injury if he refused to cooperate, The Post said.
In one instance, a CIA interrogator showed Nashiri a gun and sought to frighten the detainee into thinking he would be shot, said the paper, citing unnamed sources.
{{/usCountry}}In one instance, a CIA interrogator showed Nashiri a gun and sought to frighten the detainee into thinking he would be shot, said the paper, citing unnamed sources.
{{/usCountry}}In a separate encounter, a power drill was held near Nashiri's body and repeatedly turned on and off, according to the report.
The federal torture statute prohibits US nationals from threatening anyone in his or her custody with imminent death, The Post noted.