Call To Probe US Medics' Possible Torture Complicity

The American Medical Association (AMA), the professional body for US physicians, has called for a new investigation into whether doctors were complicit in the torture of prisoners held by US military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is backing calls by US Army investigator Major General George R. Fay for an inquiry into the possible failure of medical professionals "to properly document and report the abuse" known to have taken place.

The AMA, which can censure, suspend or expel any member found to have violated its Principles of Medical Ethics, has written to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld offering any such inquiry its expertise in both professional ethics and clinical medicine.

The organisation's intervention follows an appeal by the British Medical Association, and British charity the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture for the AMA to take disciplinary action against medical professionals found to have been involved in torturing prisoners.

The BMA and Medical Foundation wrote in August to the AMA stating: " It now appears that the system of torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, in Afghanistan (and probably at Guantánamo Bay) has corrupted a number of American medical professionals working for, or with, the US military.

"Recent articles in two of the world's leading medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, have catalogued evidence of direct medical involvement in torture and indirect planning for the sophisticated psychological and physical techniques of abuse used against prisoners held abroad by US military forces...

"Lest the healing profession be accused of doing further harm, it is incumbent on the medical profession and medical establishment in general, and in our view, on the American Medical Association in particular, to take disciplinary action against any of its own who have knowingly violated the basic principles of medical ethics that all of us are pledged uphold."

In September James Rohack, chair of the AMA's trustees, wrote to Mr Rumsfeld saying the AMA stood ready to assist efforts to investigate the possible role of medical professionals in the abuse of detainees.

His letter added: "Physicians are uniquely trained to document clinical evidence of harm and are especially likely to become aware of potential abuse.

"Hence, physicians' internationally recognized ethical obligations to document and report suspected abuse are intended to serve as a strong protection against the mistreatment of detainees, including our own captured soldiers.

"When this protection is questioned, the AMA is prepared to serve our country by contributing expertise in professional ethics and clinical medicine to an inquiry and any necessary plans for remediation."

Yesterday a Medical Foundation spokesman said: "We are pleased that the AMA, which in the past has made forceful policy statements against torture, has shown its willingness to help arrive at the truth.

"The onus is now on the US military and civil authorities to initiate a thorough investigation of such alleged ethical and criminal abuses as falsifying death certificates."

Michael Wilks, Chair of the BMA Ethics Committee, said: "The BMA fully supports the AMA in its call for an investigation into these serious accusations. Like the AMA, the BMA would treat any accusation of complicity in torture and other gross human rights violations with the utmost seriousness. Doctors employed by the armed forces must work to the highest ethical standards."

Further Inquiries to the Medical Foundation Press Office: 020 7697 7792

Or Franca Tranza, BMA Press Office: 020 7383 6188