Walling is a method of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

used by the CIA in which a person's neck is encircled by a collar, and is then used to slam the person against a wall. According to information gathered by the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signa ...

from six detainees, "walling" meant "beating by use of a collar", in at least one instance against a concrete wall. Prompted to explain their interrogation techniques to the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

in 2005, the CIA provided a series of memos to the department's Office of Legal Counsel, one of which described "walling". The memo states that walling "involves the use of a flexible, false wall ... the interrogator pulls the individual forward and then quickly and firmly pushes the individual into the wall. It is the individual's shoulder blades that hit the wall. During this motion, the head and neck are supported with a rolled hood or towel". Steven G. Bradbury, a Principal Deputy Assistant

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

during the Bush administration, said that walling "involves what may be characterized as rough handling". According to a report by the

CIA Inspector General The CIA Office of Inspector General exists to perform an inspector general (IG) function at the Central Intelligence Agency. The first IG was appointed in 1952. The 1970s The Rockefeller Commission, Church Committee, and Pike Committee all r ...

, Ammar al-Baluchi suffered brain damage after being used as a "training prop" for interrogators.

References

{{Reflist Interrogation techniques Torture in the United States