"In addition to torturing prisoners themselves, Mitchell and Jessen trained other CIA personnel in their methods."

- Psychologists Behind CIA 'Enhanced Interrogation' Program Settle Detainees' Lawsuit
- On Eve of Trial, Psychologists Agree to Historic Settlement in ACLU Case on Behalf of Three Torture Victims

"In addition to torturing prisoners themselves, Mitchell and Jessen trained other CIA personnel in their methods." - ACLU

"Drs. Mitchell and Jessen acknowledge that they worked with the CIA to develop a program for the CIA that contemplated the use of specific coercive methods to interrogate certain detainees." - NPR


On Eve of Trial, Psychologists Agree to Historic Settlement in ACLU Case on Behalf of Three Torture Victims
August 17, 2017

NEW YORK — In a first for a case involving CIA torture, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today in the lawsuit against the two psychologists who designed and implemented the agency’s brutal program. A jury trial was scheduled to begin on September 5, after the plaintiffs successfully overcame every attempt by the psychologists to have the case dismissed.

The lawsuit was brought by the ACLU on behalf of Suleiman Abdullah Salim, Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, and the family of Gul Rahman, who froze to death in a secret CIA prison. The three men were tortured and experimented on using methods developed by the CIA-contracted psychologists, James Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen.

“This is a historic victory for our clients and the rule of law,” said ACLU attorney Dror Ladin. “This outcome shows that there are consequences for torture and that survivors can and will hold those responsible for torture accountable. It is a clear warning for anyone who thinks they can torture with impunity.”

The full terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.

“We brought this case seeking accountability and to help ensure that no one else has to endure torture and abuse, and we feel that we have achieved our goals,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement praising the settlement. “We were able to tell the world about horrific torture, the CIA had to release secret records, and the psychologists and high-level CIA officials were forced to answer our lawyers’ questions. It has been a long, difficult road, but we are very pleased with the results.”

Until now, every lawsuit trying to hold people accountable for the CIA torture program has been dismissed at initial stages because the government successfully argued that letting the cases proceed would reveal state secrets. But unlike previous cases, this time the Justice Department did not try to derail the lawsuit. The defendants attempted to dismiss the case multiple times, but the court consistently ruled that the plaintiffs had valid claims.

“Government officials and contractors are on notice that they cannot hide from accountability for torture,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project. “Our clients’ groundbreaking case has changed the legal landscape. It showed that the courts are fully capable of handling lawsuits involving abuses committed in the name of national security.".....

In addition to torturing prisoners themselves, Mitchell and Jessen trained other CIA personnel in their methods. In 2005, they founded a company that the CIA contracted with to run its entire torture program, including supplying interrogators for the agency’s secret “black site” prisons. The government paid the company $81 million over several years.... https://www.aclu.org/news/cia-torture-psychologists-settle-lawsuit

Psychologists Behind CIA 'Enhanced Interrogation' Program Settle Detainees' Lawsuit
August 17, 2017 Bill Chappell
Two psychologists who were paid more than $80 million by the CIA to develop "enhanced interrogation" techniques — which have been called torture — have settled a lawsuit brought by men who were detained.

The list of brutal methods devised by Bruce Jessen and James Mitchell for use by the U.S. included waterboarding. The tactics were meant to condition detainees into a state of helplessness. Mitchell has said he was told by U.S. officials that the idea was to "walk right up to the edge of the law."

The case had been set to go before a jury on Sept. 5. Because of their status as contractors rather than government employees, the lawsuit had targeted Jessen and Mitchell as private citizens.

Based in Spokane, Wash., the two psychologists were sued by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two former prisoners and the family of one detainee who died of extreme cold in a secret CIA prison.

The case was filed in October 2015, after the Senate intelligence committee released part of its report on the CIA's programs in which Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's chairwoman, wrote that she had concluded that "under any common meaning of the term, CIA detainees were tortured."....

Similar details of the detainees' treatment emerged from the plaintiffs and the Senate report: Prisoners were often held nude or nearly nude, left hanging by their arms or chained to the floor, confined in small places and subjected to intense cold.....

The defendants issued a statement Thursday in which Jessen said, "Neither Dr. Mitchell nor I knew about, condoned, participated in, or sanctioned the unauthorized actions that formed the basis for this lawsuit."

In recent hearings, the judge also "noted that the federal government is paying for the team of defense attorneys for Mitchell and Jessen and would also fund any potential cash award by a jury," as The Spokesman-Review reported. Back in 2010, the AP and Mother Jones reported that the CIA had agreed to pay up to $5 million toward the psychologists' attorneys fees....

The terms of the settlement are confidential. ACLU attorney Dror Ladin called it "a historic victory for our clients and the rule of law," adding that it shows there are consequences for those accused of torture.

In suing Mitchell and Jessen, the ACLU says, the plaintiffs accused them of "torture; cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; nonconsensual human experimentation; and war crimes."

Mitchell and Jessen's work stemmed from military psychologists' efforts to prepare U.S. soldiers for potential capture, subjecting them to isolation, insults, and waterboarding as part of a training program known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE. The pair were the first to propose "applying the harsh tactics used in SERE training to detainees," as NPR's Alix Spiegel reported in 2009.

On Thursday, Mitchell said that "certain individuals performed acts on detainees, including plaintiffs, without our knowledge or consent, and without authorization from the CIA — acts that should not have occurred and for which we are not responsible."

As part of the settlement, the psychologists and the former detainees agreed on a joint statement. It reads:

"Drs. Mitchell and Jessen acknowledge that they worked with the CIA to develop a program for the CIA that contemplated the use of specific coercive methods to interrogate certain detainees.

"Plaintiff Gul Rahman was subjected to abuses in the CIA program that resulted in his death and in pain and suffering for his family, including his personal representative Obaidullah. Plaintiffs Suleiman Abdullah Salim and Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud were also subjected to coercive methods in the CIA program, which resulted in pain and suffering for them and their families.

"Plaintiffs assert that they were subjected to some of the methods proposed by Drs. Mitchell and Jessen to the CIA, and stand by their allegations regarding the responsibility of Drs. Mitchell and Jessen.

"Drs. Mitchell and Jessen assert that the abuses of Mr. Salim and Mr. Ben Soud occurred without their knowledge or consent and that they were not responsible for those actions. Drs. Mitchell and Jessen also assert that they were unaware of the specific abuses that ultimately caused Mr. Rahman's death and are also not responsible for those actions....
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/17/544183178/psychologists-behind-cia-enhanced-interrogation-program-settle-detainees-lawsuit 





In-Depth Exploration of RAMCOA: Five-In-A-Day Webinar Series
Upcoming Webinar - Ritual Abuse/Mind Control/Organized Abuse
Friday, OCTOBER 6, 2017
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
Presenters: Eileen Aveni, Lynette Danylchuk, Alison Miller, Michael Salter & Valerie Sinason http://www.isst-d.org/default.asp?contentID=581 

Fran's Day Care case – Dan and Fran Keller – News Article Excerpts from 1991 – 1993  https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/frans-day-care-case-dan-and-fran-keller-news-article-excerpts-from-1991-1993/  both sides of the story

Fran's Day Care - Randy Noblitt, PhD (prosecution's expert witness)  Article at https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/frans-day-care/ 

More Misinformation in the Media about the Keller Case https://blogs.brown.edu/rcheit/2015/06/03/more-misinformation-about-the-keller-case/