Delivered Into Enemy Hands - Human Rights Watch

He said there were doctors present. He knows they were
doctors because his leg was broken while he was there
and he was treated by these same people. The doctors
would monitor him as the cold water was poured on him,
and when his body temperature got too low, they would
order warm water be added to the cold. Once his temperature was okay, they would begin
adding cold water again. 174
they got some kind of
answer from me.”
In addition to waterboarding, his interrogators would also make a sort of basin out of a
type of plastic sheeting. They would have him lie down on the floor in the basin and then
pour freezing water over him. Shoroeiya said the water was so cold it had a gel-like, icy
texture. Again, when his body temperature got too cold, they would pour warmer water on
him. Doctors were present during these sessions also, monitoring his body temperature.
He was often naked when subjected to both types of abuse with water. 175
Sharif described being subjected to a similar type of treatment, though not with a board. 176
He said he was threatened with use of the board, was shown the board, and was aware it
was being used on other prisoners, but that it was not used with him. During this treatment,
Sharif would be made to lie down on his back on plastic sheeting while guards would hold
the sides of it up, so that when water was poured in, it would not spill out. The water was
freezing cold, with an icy, gel-like consistency. His whole body was lying in it. While this
was going on he would be made to wear a black hood made out of thick cloth over his
head and they would also pour jugs of freezing cold water directly over his nose and mouth.
Sharif told Human Rights Watch:
Sometimes they put a hood over my head and they lay me down and they
start to put water in my mouth.… They poured the water over my mouth and
174 The Department of Justice, in approving the use of waterboarding, made reference to the fact that a doctor would be
present during the procedure. Office of Legal Counsel, Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central
Intelligence Agency, Re: Interrogation of an al Qaeda Operative, August 1, 2002,
http://media.luxmedia.com/aclu/olc_08012002_bybee.pdf (accessed August 26, 2012), p. 4 (“We also understand that a
medical expert with SERE experience will be present throughout this phase and that the procedures will be stopped if
deemed medically necessary to prevent severe mental or physical harm to Zubaydah.”).
175 Shoroeiya also described being subjected to this treatment when he spoke to Human Rights Watch researchers in Abu
Salim prison in 2009.
176 Human Rights Watch interview with Sharif, March 14, 2012.
DELIVERED INTO ENEMY HANDS 50
“They wouldn’t stop until