From slaps to sleep deprivation, left to stand to sensory bombardment, the CIA has numerous ways of making suspects speak. Their top secret techniques revealed.
While much of what happens behind the wires of Guantanamo Bay and other interrogation centres around the world remains shrouded in mystery, many of the techniques used by secret service interrogators have become increasingly public knowledge in recent decades.
The CIA interrogation techniques have been developed and harnessed over the years to maximise their effectiveness in transacting information from witnesses. Many of the techniques are devised to save time – for example when there is a known threat of a terrorist attack taking place and crucial information is required to avoid a further loss of life. However, many CIA interrogation techniques have been criticised as being too violent, with critics claiming that the evidence gathered from such interrogation techniques generate unreliable evidence.
A declassified CIA interrogation manual was released in the 1990s after pressure from US newspaper the Baltimore Sun. The manual highlights the interrogation techniques used by authorities to gain information from suspects, but it also contains interrogation tips, suggesting, for example, that interrogation rooms should not have windows, be dark, soundproof and have no toilet facilities.
Below we highlight some of the best known interrogation methods that have been used in the past to extract information from suspects.
Water Boarding – Possibly the most controversial of all interrogation methods used by the CIA, water boarding works by tricking the mind of a suspect into believing they are about to drown. It works by fastening a suspect to a board, with their head lower than their legs and then wrapping their face in plastic. Water is then continuously poured onto the suspect’s face until the gag reflex kicks in and the terrifying psychological effect of drowning sparks fear in the suspect to confess.

Sleep Deprivation: Reported to be an extremely effective way to disturb even the most hardnosed of suspects, sleep deprivation involves keeping a suspect awake for a long period of time – typically several days - until they part with vital information.
Left to Stand: Amazingly simple, but highly effective, this method of interrogation involves the suspect being made to stand on the spot, often handcuffed, for a prolonged period of time; up to 40 hours in many cases. Due to the fact that they are forced to stand, suspects also suffer from sleep deprivation also, magnifying the effect of this interrogation technique.
Hyperthermia – This technique involves leaving a suspect in a cell, typically naked, and soaking them in freezing water. The cell is also maintained at a freezing temperature to make the prisoner as uncomfortable and as close to hyperthermia as possible.
Sensory Bombardment: As the cult move A Clockwork Orange demonstrates, sensory bombardment can have a significant impact on an individual’s mental state. Interrogation techniques like this involve bombarding a suspect’s senses – hearing, sight, smell – for a prolonged period of time. Intense bright lights, loud noises or strong smells are used to confuse the suspects, so too are repetitions – such as being forced to listen to the same music over and over again or having a light continuously shone into your eyes.
Isolation – A common form of punishment in prisons, as well as military interrogations, isolating a prisoner for long periods of time can bring about the desired results. Left alone in a cell for a number of days, prisoners become increasingly stressed and agitated about their situation, making them ripe for confession.
Slap and Grab Techniques – While extreme physical violence against prisoners and ‘torture’ are deemed illegal under national and international law, including the Geneva Convention, less physical techniques are often used by interrogators. A number of ‘grabs’ and ‘slaps’ are often used by interrogators and they include; the attention grab, which involves continuous shirt pulling; the attention slap, which, as the name suggests, is an open-handed slap to a part of the body and the Belly Slap; again, as the name suggests this is a slap to the belly. All of these techniques have been developed to cause pain and scare suspects, but to produce no long-term damage.