July 2002: CIA Interrogator Repeatedly Takes Detainee to Brink of Unconsciousness by Applying Pressure to Carotid Artery

A CIA officer applies pressure to a detainee’s carotid artery during an interrogation, almost causing him to lose consciousness. The “pressure point” technique is applied a total of three times on the detainee. During the applications, a fellow officer sits opposite the detainee and indicates to the first officer to stop when the detainee starts to pass out. The first officer will later acknowledge to the CIA’s inspector general that “he laid hands on the detainee and may have made him think he was going to lose consciousness.” The use of such pressure points is not an authorized technique at the CIA. [Central Intelligence Agency, 5/7/2004, pp. 69-70 ] In 2004, an internal CIA report will document such “pressure point” techniques in its examination of torture allegations (see May 7, 2004).