An ongoing Pentagon investigation into the videotaping of terror suspect interrogations has uncovered at least 50 videotaped interrogations, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Most of the videotaped interrogations involved two terror detainees, Jose Padilla and Ali al-Marri. Officials denied that any of the tapes depict interrogation tactics that would qualify as torture, although one does show al-Marri being gagged with duct tape. The investigation, launched in January, was meant to clarify the rules surrounding military interrogations, but officials say it has been hindered by inconsistent practices in the field. The preliminary findings are the first time that the military has acknowledged filming some terror interrogations.
The investigation was launched after controversy surrounding the CIA’s admission that it destroyed videotapes of the interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
The military is currently holding tens of thousands of detainees in custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, and a Pentagon spokesman said that taping interrogations was not a widespread practice. The tapings of Padilla and al-Marri both occurred at a Navy Brig in South Carolina.
Padilla has since been transferred to civilian custody and is serving a 17-year sentence on terrorism charges, while al-Marri continues to be held by the Defense Department as an “enemy combatant.” He has challenged his detention, and his case is currently being considered by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
