Citation

Sheather J, Beynon R, Davies T, Abbasi K. BMJ 2015; 350: h589.

Affiliation

The BMJ, London WC1H 9JR, UK kabbasi@bmj.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bmj.h589

PMID

25647456

Abstract

People held in detention are vulnerable. Complex physical and psychological health needs are compounded by loss of freedom that constrains detainees’ ability to assert their interests. The purpose of custodial institutions and environments is not therapeutic. Health professionals who look after detainees find themselves torn by divided loyalties: their primary obligation to patient wellbeing conflicts with their obligations to institutions and employers.

Involvement of health professionals in torture is indisputable. A recent report by the US Senate Intelligence Select Committee confirmed that the line between medical care and interrogation was breached by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the “war on terror.” Health professionals supervised waterboarding sessions and cleared detainees for enhanced interrogation. Medical staff were involved in rectal feeding and hydration, which the CIA considered useful in overcoming detainees’ refusal of food and fluids despite no evidence of its benefit. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, a panel of ....

Language: en