Activists on UC Berkeley’s campus protested Wednesday against the use of torture by the US government in the current “War on Terror,” by simulating a “waterboarding” interrogation.
I’m totally confused. Who is doing what to who and why? Is it all simulated? Why are people shouting “stop it!”?
Thanks, Hossam, for uploading these during my exile from cyberspace.
A little more background for the confused:
These images are from a demonstration on the UC Berkeley campus, timed to coincide with the swearing-in of new U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who has refused to define waterboarding as torture.
All the participants are anti-torture activists. The person who volunteered to be the victim explained his reasoning this way: “I wanted people to understand what waterboarding is, how horrendous and horrible and torturous this is.”
It seemed to have some effect – the people shouting “stop it” were students and other bystanders in the plaza.
By the way: It wasn’t clear while it was going on, but organizers later told the crowd the victim had plastic over his face. So he was being held down and suffocated, but he wasn’t actually drowning.
I’m totally confused. Who is doing what to who and why? Is it all simulated? Why are people shouting “stop it!”?
Thanks, Hossam, for uploading these during my exile from cyberspace.
A little more background for the confused:
These images are from a demonstration on the UC Berkeley campus, timed to coincide with the swearing-in of new U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who has refused to define waterboarding as torture.
All the participants are anti-torture activists. The person who volunteered to be the victim explained his reasoning this way: “I wanted people to understand what waterboarding is, how horrendous and horrible and torturous this is.”
It seemed to have some effect – the people shouting “stop it” were students and other bystanders in the plaza.
By the way: It wasn’t clear while it was going on, but organizers later told the crowd the victim had plastic over his face. So he was being held down and suffocated, but he wasn’t actually drowning.