Name: Isolation for up to 30 days

Source: Joint Task Force 170 memo, Oct. 11, 2002; DOD memorandum, April 16, 2003

Description: According to the Dec. 2, 2002, Pentagon memo, isolation can mean sequestering an inmate in a cell by himself with no outside contact for up to 30 days. It can also be applied in conjunction with tactics like "deprivation of light and auditory stimuli" and/or hooding. An April 2003 Pentagon memo says this should only be done with strict medical and psychological controls.

Physical, Psychological, or Other Effects: During the 1950s, a U.S. intelligence community study analyzed Soviet methods of interrogation and found that "the effect of isolation on the brain function of the prisoner is much like that which occurs if he is beaten, starved, or deprived of sleep." Solitary confinement is used frequently as a disciplinary or security measure in civilian prisons and has been found to result in psychological harm if used to excess.

Locations Used: Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan

Legal Opinion: Article 90 of the 3rd Geneva Convention limits to 30 days disciplinary punishment meted out without a trial but does not speak to confinement or isolation for interrogation purposes. Isolation that results in severe mental anguish or suffering, for example in conjunction with light and sound deprivation, probably violates the CAT and ICCPR.