Name: Mock executions

Source: Not an authorized tactic; used by Lt. Col. Allen West to interrogate a detainee in Iraq; also reported in records released by the Army on May 18, 2005.

Description: In August 2003, West learned that he was the target of an assassination plot by Iraqi insurgents. He and his soldiers arrested an Iraqi police officer thought to be involved and forcibly interrogated him for several hours. After exhausting other techniques, West brandished his pistol in front of the detainee and fired it near his head in a mock execution. West was subsequently charged with criminal misconduct and given administrative punishment by his commanding general. Several of his soldiers were disciplined as well.

In a separate incident from July 2003, Army Capt. Shawn Martin was convicted of aggravated assault and battery for simulating the execution of a prisoner. According to the report, Martin's unit captured eight prisoners and forced one to dig his own grave. Martin then ordered a sergeant to fire a bullet over the detainee's head, so that the other prisoners would think he'd been executed.

Physical, Psychological, or Other Effects: Severe mental suffering.

Locations Used: Iraq

Legal Opinion: This tactic clearly violates the law. FM 34-52 categorizes "mock executions" as a form of "mental torture."