Reading Room Document

Application of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340–2340A to Certain Techniques That May Be Used in the Interrogation of a High Value al Qaeda Detainee

This opinion reviews whether each of 13 interrogation techniques (which include dietary manipulation, nudity, attention grasp, walling, facial hold, insult (facial) slap, abdominal slap, cramped confinement, wall standing, stress position, water dosing, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding) proposed by the CIA to apply on a high value al Qaeda detainee comply with the federal prohibition on torture, codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340–2340A. The opinion concludes that none of these specific techniques, viewed independently, would violate the statute, provided that limitations, procedures, and safeguards are in place. The opinion notes that extended sleep deprivation and waterboarding may, however, prompt more substantial legal questions. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/file/886271/download.

May 10, 2005