Reprieve works worldwide to help victims of human rights abuses like the death penalty, torture and extrajudicial detention. I donate to Reprieve on a personal level whenever I have funds to do so. I have a lot of respect for the work of Clive Stafford Smith, Founder of Reprieve and his team.
Reprieve fund the litigation, expert witnesses and investigations which help to deliver justice and save lives across the globe.
I have added a new tier reward for Iron Man Records Patrons.
Iron Man Records will donate £10 to Reprieve each month for every Patron who signs up to the Reprieve tier/reward. Patrons at this level will also ensure that a Reprieve Logo appears on the next Iron Man Records Vinyl Release and a mention of the work they do will be added.
I have read the memo prepared by Clive Stafford Smith on the use of Music in Torture. It makes a horrific and shocking read.
“Victims of music torture are subjected to deafening music played for hours, days and months on end in order to ‘break’ them. Such techniques are currently used by the US military to destroy victims psychologically; the long-term damage is often far more devastating than physical injury.”
Blasting prisoners with ear-splitting music 24/7 is a form of modern torture. This technique leaves no visible scars. It causes severe psychiatric problems, the devastating effects of which can last a lifetime.
It is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions, and an affront to musicians everywhere.
The UN and the European Court of Human Rights have banned the use of loud music in interrogations, but it is still being widely used. Prisoners describe the experience as harder to bear even than physical torture.
Reprieve’s client Binyam Mohamed from North London – recently released from Guantanamo Bay – suffered 18 months of torture in a Moroccan secret prison.
During this time his penis was routinely slashed with razor blades, yet he describes the sensation of feeling his sanity slip during psychological torture as even more horrific. He spoke to Reprieve Director Clive Stafford Smith, his lawyer, in Guantánamo Bay:
“They hung me up. I was allowed a few hours of sleep on the second day, then hung up again, this time for two days. My legs had swollen. My wrists and hands had gone numb…. There was loud music, [Eminem’s] ‘Slim Shady’ and Dr. Dre for 20 days…. The CIA worked on people, including me, day and night…. Plenty lost their minds. I could hear people knocking their heads against the walls and the doors, screaming their heads off.”
Reprieve became concerned by the frequent mention of music torture whilst interviewing clients. It became clear that music is being used as part of brutal psychological torture in the so called ‘war on terror’.
Reprieve works to draw attention to and put an end to this practice.
Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. Reprieve investigates, litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves.
Reprieve promotes the rule of law around the world, securing each person’s right to a fair trial and saving lives. Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent more than 25 years working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA.
Reprieve’s current casework involves representing prisoners in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, working on behalf of prisoners facing the death penalty, and conducting ongoing investigations into the rendition and the secret detention of ‘ghost prisoners’ in the so-called ‘war on terror.’
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Read the Reprieve 2017-2018 Strategic Plan
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