Waterboarding Torture Claims Send Waves through Police

Six London Met police officers have been accused of torture.

Six officers from the London Metropolitan Police have been accused of torturing suspects, using the infamous method of waterboarding, according to The Times.

The alleged torturing was said to have occurred during a drugs bust last year. The officers, based in Enfield, North London, are the subject of an investigation from the Independant Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The investigation is also thought to be looking into more allegations including the fabrication of evidence and also theft of property from the suspects.

The bust in question led to a charge of importation of cannabis, a Class C drug. It took place in November 2008 and four men and one woman were arrested. However, the case was later abandoned.

In a statement made to the BBC, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) received information from a Metropolitan Police Service employee which raised concerns about the conduct of a small number of officers in Enfield borough. The IPCC is independently investigating the actions of six officers during the arrests of five people in November 2008.”

The practice of waterboarding was notarised during the recent Iraq war, with US forces drowned in complaints for using the controversial interrogation technique in Guantanamo Bay. Waterboarding involves the subject having a wet rag stuffed into the mouth, with more water poured over the face to give the impression that one is drowning. US President Barack Obama has since publically outlawed waterboarding.

One of the men previously held in Guantanamo Bay, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, has become the first of the prisoners to face a formal court trial on US shores. Mr Ghailani, who is alleged to have been an aide to Osama Bin Laden, will have access to all the rights included with a fair trial.

His military lawyer, Air Force Major Richard Reiter, told the Associated Press: “We’re not dealing with the due process issues that exist in Guantanamo. A fair prosecution that protects his rights is all we could ask for”.

By Warren McGraw posted June 10, 2009 3:58 AM with 765 views