Picture of the Day - 2 - Waterboarding

We don't actually have pictures of the waterboarding technique that was used by the CIA. Somehow, they insert cellophane so that the water doesn't actually enter, but the decription from those that have undergone it is that through the gag reflex it still simulates drowning.






Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.

According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. .....

"The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law," said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch.

The pictures: a wood etching from 1556 from the Inquisition, US soldiers in Vietnam who were sentenced to 10 years, and two pictures from a Chinese dissident group showing what was done at a Chinese labor camp.

Here's a brief history of waterboarding.