Resistance to interrogation
Encyclopedia
R2I or resistance to interrogation is a name for a set of techniques taught to UK
, and other NATO soldiers ostensibly to help them, after capture by the enemy, to resist interrogation
techniques such as humiliation
and torture
.
The trainees undergo practices such as hood
ing, sleep deprivation
, time disorientation, prolonged nakedness, sexual humiliation and deprivation of warmth, water and food. Many of these techniques are against international law if used in interrogations.
According to The Guardian
this training influenced the interrogation of Iraq
i detainees by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. These techniques were allegedly taught specifically to US military intelligence officers who later went to Iraq to perform interrogations. The story in The Guardian
tells of a correlation between techniques routinely used in RTI and those allegedly used on prisoners at Abu Ghraib
, but offers no definitive proof of causation.
Standard RTI for most special military branches of American and European governments covers both tortures that are condemned by the United Nations
and interrogation techniques that are considered legitimate, usually presented along a sliding scale. I.e. a soldier would be subjected to slight discomforts before being subjected to more torturous techniques.
The most intense RTI was supposedly carried out by the Russian special purpose regiment (Spetsnaz
) when the Soviet Union
was still intact. The training of this regiment (more accurately referred to as a Corps
as there were as many as 20,000 members at its peak) was world-renowned, especially in military circles, for its brutality.
RTI is a product of the market for military information, which has been in place since as early as when Sun Tzu
wrote The Art of War
. Especially moving into modern times, when information and technology is often more important than numbers in combat, and when torture has been used less often to humiliate and more often to extract information, RTI has become a integral part of military training in most Western countries in one way or another.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and other NATO soldiers ostensibly to help them, after capture by the enemy, to resist interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
techniques such as humiliation
Humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It can be brought about through bullying, intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by embarrassment if a person is revealed to have...
and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
.
The trainees undergo practices such as hood
Hooding
Hooding is the placing of a hood over the entire head of a prisoner. One legal scholar considers the hooding of prisoners to be a violation of international law, specifically the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, which demand that persons in the power of occupying forces be treated humanely....
ing, sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
, time disorientation, prolonged nakedness, sexual humiliation and deprivation of warmth, water and food. Many of these techniques are against international law if used in interrogations.
According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
this training influenced the interrogation of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i detainees by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. These techniques were allegedly taught specifically to US military intelligence officers who later went to Iraq to perform interrogations. The story in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
tells of a correlation between techniques routinely used in RTI and those allegedly used on prisoners at Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib
The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...
, but offers no definitive proof of causation.
Standard RTI for most special military branches of American and European governments covers both tortures that are condemned by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and interrogation techniques that are considered legitimate, usually presented along a sliding scale. I.e. a soldier would be subjected to slight discomforts before being subjected to more torturous techniques.
The most intense RTI was supposedly carried out by the Russian special purpose regiment (Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
) when the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was still intact. The training of this regiment (more accurately referred to as a Corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
as there were as many as 20,000 members at its peak) was world-renowned, especially in military circles, for its brutality.
RTI is a product of the market for military information, which has been in place since as early as when Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
wrote The Art of War
The Art of War
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu , a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period...
. Especially moving into modern times, when information and technology is often more important than numbers in combat, and when torture has been used less often to humiliate and more often to extract information, RTI has become a integral part of military training in most Western countries in one way or another.