The Church report on detainee interrogation and incarceration (officially ''Review of Department of Defense Detention Operations and Detainee Interrogation Techniques'') is a US government report completed under the direction of
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Albert T. Church, an officer in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Church was then the Naval
Inspector General.
Church's mandate was to investigate the interrogation and incarceration of detainees in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
"
war on terror", in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Guantanamo Bay. The inquiry was initiated on May 25, 2004. A version of its report was finished on March 2, 2005 and published on March 11.
An unclassified 21-page executive summary has been circulated. The full 368-page report is classified.
Church and his staff interviewed 800 individuals, Washington policy-makers, Armed Services members, and allies of the United States.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
reports that the Church inquiry didn't interview any detainees.
Highlights
*The inquiry concluded that 26 deaths in custody merited homicide charges.
*Senior officers ignored warning signs, like the reports submitted to them by the Red Cross.
Unredacted version published
On February 11, 2009, the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
received an unredacted copy of the report.
[
] They published an excerpt allegedly proving illegal
abuses of power had resulted in the death of several individuals.
*Original 2005 Church Report redacted release
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Church Report*Further Church Report material released in litigation
Report p.281, released April 2008
Report pp. 353-365, released April 2008
Report pp.235 & 242, released January 2009
See also
*
Fay Report
*
Ryder Report
References
External links
Church Report Falls Short of Establishing Accountability; PHR Calls for Independent Commission to Investigate Torture by US Forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo ''
Physicians for Human Rights
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New Y ...
'' March 14, 2005
New Interrogation Rules Set for Detainees in Iraq reprint from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', March 10, 2005
US Military Says 26 Inmate Deaths May Be Homicide reprint from ''The New York Times'', March 16, 2005
Abuse Review Exonerates Policy: Low-Level Leaders and Confusion Blamed ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' March 10, 2005
Center for Constitutional Rights Says Rumsfeld Must be Held Accountable for Inmate Homicides in Iraq And Afghanistan
Counterterrorism in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Reports of the United States government
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