The Bush administration's torture of U.S. citizen Jose Padilla--scroll down to this title

Tweet When reading this at Unclaimed Territory--Glenn Greenwald's blog--I was reminded of the episode of "Eyes on the Prize" I had seen on PBS on Monday night. One of the Freedom Riders going through the south on buses trying to enforce equal rights laws was jailed and was beaten when he wouldn't relinquish his mattress to his jailers. We've been here before folks--the Freedom Riders were amazing. Next week is another installment of "Eyes on the Prize," I believe. Well worth watching.--Linda

"In addition to his extreme isolation, Mr. Padilla was also viciously deprived of sleep. This sleep deprivation was achieved in a variety of ways. For a substantial period of his captivity, Mr. Padilla’s cell contained only a steel bunk with no mattress. The pain and discomfort of sleeping on a cold, steel bunk made it impossible for him to sleep. Mr. Padilla was not given a mattress until the tail end of his captivity. . . .

"Other times, his captors would bang the walls and cell bars creating loud startling noises. These disruptions would occur throughout the night and cease only in the morning, when Mr. Padilla’s interrogations would begin. Efforts to manipulate Mr. Padilla and break his will also took the form of the denial of the few benefits he possessed in his cell. . . .