AMA Statement on Interrogation of Prisoners

Psychiatr News July 7, 2006
Volume 41, Number 13, page 4
© 2006 American Psychiatric Association



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These are the five concluding recommendations in the AMA Councilon Ethical and Judicial Affairs' report on physician participationin interrogation:

Physicians may perform physical and mental assessments of detaineesto determine the need for and to provide medical care. Whenso doing, physicians must disclose to the detainee the extentto which others have access to information included in medicalrecords and should not record or reveal any information againstthe wishes of the detainee, unless clearly justified by tenetsof medical ethics and public health. Treatment must never be conditionalon a patient's participation in an interrogation.
Physiciansmust neither conduct nor directly participate inan interrogation,because a role as physician-interrogator underminesthe physician'srole as healer and thereby erodes trust in theindividual physician-interrogatorand in the medical profession.
Physicians must not monitorinterrogations with the intentionof intervening in the process,because this constitutes directparticipation in interrogation.
Physicians may participate in developing effective interrogationstrategies for general training purposes. These strategies mustnot threaten or cause physical injury or mental suffering andmust be humane and respect the rights of individuals.
Whenphysicians have reason to believe that interrogations arecoercive, theymust report their observations to the appropriateauthorities.If authorities are aware of coercive interrogationsbut havenot intervened, physicians are ethically obligatedto reportthe offenses to independent authorities that havethe powerto investigate or adjudicate such allegations.