113-615: The Amboyna massacre (also known as the Amboyna trial ) was the 1623 torture and execution on Ambon Island (present-day Ambon, Maluku , Indonesia ) of twenty-one men, including ten in the service of the English East India Company , as well as Japanese and Portuguese traders and a Portuguese man, by agents of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), on accusations of treason . It was the result of
226-555: A 2020 Census population of 128,069. By mid 2023 those populations were estimated to have become 354,052 and 128,754 respectively, resulting in an all-island population of 482,806. Ambon has an airport and is home to the Pattimura University and Open University (Universitas Terbuka), state universities, and a few private universities, which include Darussalam University (Universitas Darussalam, UNDAR) and Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM). Ambon Island lies off
339-677: A U.S. policy that provides for the torture of prisoners is that it could be used by our adversaries as justification for the torture of captured U.S. personnel." This memo was forwarded to the Defense Department Office of the General Counsel, and then to the CIA's acting general counsel and Justice Department, even as the George W. Bush administration authorized waterboarding and other measures. For over three years during
452-522: A class of native origin enjoying certain privileges conferred on their ancestors by the old Dutch East India Company. There were also, besides the Dutch, some Arabs, Chinese and a few Portuguese settlers. Ambon city was the site of a major Dutch military base that Imperial Japanese forces captured from Allied forces in the World War II Battle of Ambon in 1942. The battle was followed by
565-954: A consequence of ethnic and religious tensions, and President Sukarno making Indonesia a unitary state , Ambon was the scene of a revolt against the Indonesian government, resulting in the rebellion of the Republic of South Maluku in 1950. In April and May 1958 during the Permesta rebellion in North Sulawesi , the USA supported and supplied the rebels. Pilots from a Taiwan -based CIA front organisation , Civil Air Transport , flying CIA B-26 Invader aircraft, repeatedly bombed and machine-gunned targets on Ambon. From 27 April until 18 May there were CIA air raids on Ambon city . Also, on 8 May 1958 CIA pilot Allen Pope bombed and machine-gunned
678-675: A court consisting of the governor and Council of the VOC at Amboina. However, four of the English and two of the Japanese condemned were subsequently pardoned. Consequently, ten Englishmen, nine Japanese and one Portuguese (the latter being employees of the VOC), were executed. On 9 March 1623 they were beheaded, and the head of the English captain, Gabriel Towerson, was impaled on a pole for all to see. The incident ended any hope of Anglo-Dutch cooperation in
791-635: A fantasy and that the confessions had been obtained only by severe torture. When they were unable to obtain redress in Batavia, they traveled to England, accompanied by the English factor at Batavia. Their story caused an uproar in England. The directors of the EIC asked that the English government demand reparations from the VOC and exemplary punishment of the Amboina judges from the Dutch government. According to
904-472: A former Republican prosecutor including in the George W. Bush administration, has stated that when used in "some number of instances that were not prolonged or extensive", waterboarding should not qualify as torture under the law. McCarthy has also stated that "waterboarding is close enough to torture that reasonable minds can differ on whether it is torture" and that "[t]here shouldn't be much debate that subjecting someone to [waterboarding] repeatedly would cause
1017-533: A less severe form that only mimicked drowning. Different accounts of waterboarding by the United States disagree about how it is practiced. Some accounts describe saturated cloth and water being used to create a misperception of drowning, while others describe water entering the body. The United States' Office of Legal Counsel in August 2002 responded to the request by the CIA for a legal opinion regarding
1130-419: A memo from Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis, who found that Yoo showed "poor judgment" but did not violate ethical standards. Commentators have noted that the memos omitted key relevant precedents, including a Texas precedent under then-Governor George W. Bush when the state convicted and sentenced to prison for ten years a county sheriff for waterboarding a criminal suspect. Bush did not issue
1243-671: A method of torture was not widely debated in the United States before it was alleged, in 2004, that members of the CIA had used the technique against certain suspected detained terrorists. Subsequently, the U.S. government released the Bybee memo , a memorandum dated 1 August 2002, from Jay Bybee at the Office of Legal Counsel for White House Counsel Albert Gonzales . The OLC memo concluded that waterboarding did not constitute torture and could be used to interrogate enemy combatants . Bybee reasoned that "in order for pain or suffering to rise to
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#17327732121411356-575: A narrow neck of land. The Ambon Bay thus formed cuts about 20 kilometres (12 mi) into the island with the airport on the northern shore and the city of Ambon on the northern, eastern and southern sides. The city of Ambon covers the entirety of Leitimur, with its centre on the northwest coast of Leitimur, but also includes the south-central part of Leihitu, and has a safe harbor on Amboina Bay . The highest mountains , Wawani at 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) and Salahutu at 1,225 metres (4,019 feet), have hot springs and solfataras . They are volcanoes , and
1469-430: A pardon for the sheriff. Former George W. Bush administration officials Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft have stated since leaving office that they do not consider waterboarding to be torture. At least one Republican member of the U.S. Congress , Ted Poe , has taken a similar position. Other Republican officials have provided less definitive views regarding whether waterboarding is torture. Andrew C. McCarthy ,
1582-599: A propagandistic context. John Dryden wrote a play, entitled " Amboyna or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants", apparently at the behest of his patron who had been one of the chief negotiators of the Secret treaty of Dover that caused England's entry into that war. The play embellishes the affair by attributing the animus of Governor Van Speult against Gabriel Towerson to an amorous rivalry between
1695-419: A running tap: The rag was soaked rapidly. Water flowed everywhere: in my mouth, in my nose, all over my face. But for a while I could still breathe in some small gulps of air. I tried, by contracting my throat, to take in as little water as possible and to resist suffocation by keeping air in my lungs for as long as I could. But I couldn't hold on for more than a few moments. I had the impression of drowning, and
1808-477: A short allowance." Prisoners in late 19th-century Alabama, and in Mississippi in the first third of the 20th century, also suffered waterboarding. In Alabama, in lieu of or in addition to other physical punishment, a "prisoner was strapped down on his back; then 'water [was] poured in his face on the upper lip, and effectually stop[ped] his breathing as long as there [was] a constant stream'." In Mississippi,
1921-462: A subsequent 21 April 1852 letter to the editors documents an incidence of waterboarding, then called "showering" or "hydropathic torture", in New York's Sing Sing prison of an inmate named Henry Hagan, who, after several other forms of beating and mistreatment, had his head shaved, and "certainly three, and possibly a dozen, barrels of water were poured upon his naked scalp". Hagan was then placed in
2034-416: A terrible agony, that of death itself, took possession of me. In spite of myself, all the muscles of my body struggled uselessly to save me from suffocation. In spite of myself, the fingers of both my hands shook uncontrollably. "That's it! He's going to talk", said a voice. The water stopped running and they took away the rag. I was able to breathe. In the gloom, I saw the lieutenants and the captain, who, with
2147-624: A total of £3615 in compensation. The brochure and its allegations also played a role at the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War . One of the casus belli used for the annexation of the Dutch colony New Netherland was the Amboyna Massacre. The Treaty of Breda (1667) ending this war appeared to have finally settled the matter. However, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , the matter was again raised in
2260-507: A water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders. ... If it's done wrong, you certainly could drown. You could swallow your tongue. [It] could do a whole bunch of stuff to you. If it's done wrong or—it's torture, Larry. It's torture. On January 15, 2009, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama 's nominee for Attorney General , Eric Holder , told his Senate confirmation hearing that waterboarding
2373-414: A yoke. A correspondent listed only as "H" later wrote: "Perhaps it would be well to state more fully the true character of this 'hydropathic torture.' The stream of water is about one inch in diameter, and falls from a hight [ sic ] of seven or eight feet. The head of the patient is retained in its place by means of a board clasping the neck; the effect of which is, that the water, striking upon
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#17327732121412486-412: Is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning . In the most common method of waterboarding, the captive's face is covered with cloth or some other thin material and immobilized on their back at an incline of 10 to 20 degrees. Torturers pour water onto the face over
2599-537: Is a terrifying experience', he said". Keller also gave a full description in 2007 in testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the practice. The CIA's Office of Medical Services noted in a 2003 memo that "for reasons of physical fatigue or psychological resignation, the subject may simply give up, allowing excessive filling of the airways and loss of consciousness". In an open letter in 2007 to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales , Human Rights Watch asserted that waterboarding can cause
2712-466: Is lifted, and the individual is allowed to breathe unimpeded for three or four full breaths... The procedure may then be repeated. The water is usually applied from a canteen cup or small watering can with a spout... You have... informed us that it is likely that this procedure would not last more than twenty minutes in any one application. Historically in the West, the technique is known to have been used in
2825-484: Is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon to the south, and three districts ( kecamatan ) of the Central Maluku Regency to the north. The main city and seaport is Ambon (with a 2020 Census population of 347,288), which is also the capital of Maluku province , while those districts of Maluku Tengah Regency situated on Ambon Island had
2938-573: Is one of many islands influenced by the tectonics driven by the convergence of the Pacific , Indo-Australian , and Eurasian Plates. The northeastern region of the Banda Sea is dominated by the western motion of the Pacific Plate, which has resulted in the formation of a large zone of strike slip faulting . Evidence of slab rollback is also present in the region, expressed in troughs such as
3051-595: Is starting to shift out of the "Old Towne" ("Kota Lama") toward Passo, which is the newly appointed central business district of the island region. The economy of Ambon Island was recently boosted by the investment made by Ciputra Group in creating a whole new satellite city in Lateri, Kotamadya Ambon, Maluku: Citraland Bay View City. The new international standard shopping center, Ambon City Center, opened in 2012. The Ambonese are of mixed Malay-Papuan origin. They are mostly Christians or Muslims . The predominant language of
3164-577: Is torture and the President cannot authorize it. In a press conference on April 30, President Obama also stated, "I believe waterboarding was torture, and it was a mistake." In covering the debate on the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique by the U.S. government, U.S. reporters had to decide whether to use the term "torture" or "enhanced interrogation techniques" to describe waterboarding. National Public Radio 's ombudsman detailed this debate and why NPR had decided to refrain from using
3277-569: The Amboyna when he leaves Japan . He conceals from the crew the fact that he has not performed the ceremony demanded by the Japanese of " trampling upon the Crucifix " because, "if the secret should be discovered by my countrymen, the Dutch, they would cut my throat in the voyage." Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia . The island has an area of 743.37 km (287.02 sq mi) and
3390-932: The Apartheid era. Historically, waterboarding has been viewed as an especially severe form of torture. The first known waterboarding has been attested to have taken place in 1516 in Graz , Austria . While the technique has been used in various forms for centuries, the term water board was recorded first in a 1976 UPI report: "A Navy spokesman admitted use of the 'water board' torture ... to 'convince each trainee that he won't be able to physically resist what an enemy would do to him.'" The verb-noun waterboarding dates from 2004. Techniques using forcible drowning to extract information had hitherto been referred to as " water torture ", "water treatment", " water cure " or simply "torture". Professor Darius Rejali of Reed College , author of Torture and Democracy (2007), speculates that
3503-494: The Coral Triangle . The population of the island (administered as Kota Ambon in the south, and Kecamatan Leihitu, Kecamatan Leihitu Barat, and Kecamatan Salahutu in the rural north) was just below 441,000 in the 2010 Census, but by 2020 had risen to over 475,000, and was over 482,800 in mid 2023. This included three tiny and sparsely populated islands (Lain, Hatala and Ela Islands) off the northwest coast, Ambon Island
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3616-491: The First Anglo-Dutch war , and the brochure was reprinted as "A Memento for Holland" (1652). The Dutch lost the war and were forced to accept a condition in the 1654 Treaty of Westminster , calling for the exemplary punishment of any surviving culprits. However, no culprits appear to have been still alive at the time. Moreover, after arbitration on the basis of the treaty, the heirs of the English victims were awarded
3729-588: The Guantanamo military commissions Susan J. Crawford . During his tenure as head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2003–2004, Jack Goldsmith put a halt to the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique because of serious concern over its legality, but Goldsmith's order was quickly reversed by others within the George W. Bush administration. A Republican 2008 candidate for president—Senator John McCain , who himself
3842-681: The Indonesian Air Force base at Liang in the northeast of the island, damaging the runway and destroying a Consolidated PBY Catalina . The Indonesian Air Force had only one serviceable fighter aircraft on Ambon Island, a North American P-51 Mustang at Liang. Pope's last air raid was on 18 May, when an Indonesian pilot at Liang, Captain Ignatius Dewanto, was scrambled to the P-51. Pope had attacked Ambon city before Dewanto could catch him, but Dewanto intercepted him just as Pope
3955-711: The Kempeitai , the Japanese police against those suspected of spying, and the officers of the Gestapo , the German secret police, used waterboarding as a method of torture. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore , the Double Tenth Incident occurred. This included waterboarding, by the method of binding or holding down the victim on his back, placing a cloth over his mouth and nose, and pouring water onto
4068-584: The Philippines led to Senate hearings on U.S. activity there. Testimony described the waterboarding of Tobeniano Ealdama "while supervised by ...Captain/Major Edwin F. Glenn ". Elihu Root , United States Secretary of War , ordered a court martial for Glenn in April 1902." During the trial, Glenn "maintained that the torture of Ealdama was 'a legitimate exercise of force under the laws of war.'" Though some reports seem to confuse Ealdama with Glenn, Glenn
4181-644: The Portuguese were the first Europeans to land in Ambon, and it alongside Timor became a center for Portuguese activities in Maluku following their expulsion from Ternate . The Portuguese, however, were regularly attacked by native Muslims on the island's northern coast, in particular Hitu, which had trading and religious links with major port cities on Java's north coast. They established a factory in 1521 but did not obtain peaceable possession of it until 1580. Indeed,
4294-991: The Spanish and Flemish Inquisitions , by the United States military during the Philippine–American War , by Japanese and German officials during World War II , by the French in the Algerian War , by the U.S. during the Vietnam War and the war on terror , by the Pinochet regime in Chile, by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, by British security forces during the Troubles , and by South African police during
4407-479: The Spanish Inquisition . The suffocation of bound prisoners with water has been favored because, unlike most other torture techniques, it produces no marks on the body. CIA officers who have subjected themselves to the technique have lasted an average of 14 seconds before refusing to continue. In 2006 and 2007, Fox News and Current TV , respectively, demonstrated a waterboarding technique. In
4520-575: The United Provinces to give the sum of 300,000 gulden, as compensation to the descendants of those who suffered in the " Ambon Massacre ", together with Manhattan . In 1673, the poet John Dryden produced his tragedy Amboyna; or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants . Meanwhile, the VOC imposed a monopoly on clove production that was concentrated in Ambon and a few adjacent islands. The Dutch dispositions created great displeasure among local populations. The Muslim state Hitu, in
4633-652: The Weber Deep . This motion also is expressed in extensional normal faults across Ambon. Several marine terraces are exposed in the bay regions of the island, supporting theories of uplift in the Banda Sea due to the subduction of the Indo-Australia Plate. These terraces are aged to a period of late Pleistocene to Holocene and are cut by the many faults of the island and are uplifted vertically up to 100 m. Terraces, fault scarps, and recorded seismicity reveal that active faulting continues and indicate that
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4746-528: The attack on Pearl Harbor , was subjected to waterboarding by his Japanese captors. At their trial for war crimes following the war, he testified "Well, I was put on my back on the floor with my arms and legs stretched out, one guard holding each limb. The towel was wrapped around my face and put across my face and water poured on. They poured water on this towel until I was almost unconscious from strangulation, then they would let up until I'd get my breath, then they'd start over again... I felt more or less like I
4859-410: The rack , subjected to flame, stabbed, and several had their limbs blown off by gunpowder . This was later disputed by the Dutch. According to Dutch trial records, most suspects confessed that they were guilty as charged, with or without being tortured. Since the accusation was treason, those that had confessed (confession being necessary for conviction under Roman Dutch law ) were sentenced to death by
4972-483: The summary execution of more than 300 Allied prisoners of war in the Laha massacre . A large Far East prisoner of war camp was situated in the north near Liang. This was made up of British men of the 77th HAA, 3rd Kings Own Hussars and some RAF volunteers. Approximately 1,000 men arrived in April 1943 and were marched from Ambon town over two days without food or water (see 1000 men of Liang to follow). The FEPOWs built
5085-460: The (fictitious) son of the governor and Towerson over an indigenous princess. After the son rapes the princess, Towerson kills the son in a duel. The governor then takes his revenge in the form of the massacre. Jonathan Swift refers to the massacre in Book 3, Chapter 11 of Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels (1726). Lemuel Gulliver pretends to be a "Hollander" and boards a Dutch ship named
5198-552: The Archipelago. The British, under Admiral Peter Rainier , captured Ambon in 1796, but they restored it to the Dutch at the Peace of Amiens in 1802. They retook the island in 1810 but once more restored it to the Dutch in 1814. Ambon used to be the world center of clove production; until the nineteenth century, the Dutch prohibited the rearing of the clove tree on all the other islands subject to their rule, in order to secure
5311-496: The Asian and Australian continents and have never been linked to the continents by land. As a result of this isolation, Ambon has few indigenous mammals; birds are more abundant. The insect diversity of the island, however, is rich, particularly in butterflies . Seashells are obtained in great numbers and variety. Tortoise shell is also exported. The coast of Ambon is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in
5424-603: The Dutch went looking for spices themselves in the areas that had been apportioned to Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas . In February, 1605 Steven van der Hagen , admiral of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), conquered the Portuguese fortress of Victoria at Amboyna, thereby taking over the Portuguese trading interests at Victoria. Like other European traders they tried to obtain a local monopsony in
5537-400: The English ambassador Sir Dudley Carleton , the version of events as he presented it also caused much anger at the VOC in Dutch government circles. However, the VOC soon presented its version of events which contradicted the English version in essential respects. The Dutch States General proposed a joint Anglo-Dutch commission of inquiry to establish the facts, but the suggestion was rejected by
5650-529: The English as too time-consuming. The Dutch did not want to execute the culprits of the torture and executions summarily as the English wished, so the States General commissioned an inquiry by delegated judges from the highest courts in the Dutch republic to investigate the matter. The Amboyna judges were recalled from the East-Indies and put under house arrest. The trial progressed slowly because
5763-470: The English view and, therefore, constituted a judicial murder . This contention could be decided without an examination of the witnesses. The Dutch, however, maintained that the court at Amboyna had been competent and therefore concentrated their inquiry on possible misconduct of the judges. The English witnesses traveled to the Dutch republic in 1630 with Sir Henry Vane the Elder . They were made available to
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#17327732121415876-599: The George W. Bush administration, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility conducted an investigation into the propriety of the Bybee memo and other memos by the Justice Department on waterboarding and other "enhanced" interrogation techniques. The OPR report findings were that former Deputy AAG John Yoo committed intentional professional misconduct and that former AAG Jay Bybee committed professional misconduct. These findings were dismissed in
5989-511: The Great Ambon War. Although the rebels were assisted by Makassarese auxiliaries, the rebellion was eventually defeated by the VOC commander Arnold Vlaming van Oudshoorn with great loss of life, in 1656. The colonial administration and regulated economy was then conscientiously upheld by the Dutch until European rivals arrived on the scene. Christian Ambonese often served in minor clerical position and as colonial troops in various parts of
6102-525: The Inquisitors. In general, the use of waterboarding seemed to be extensive in Spanish detention centers of the 1500s. Books from the time explain how to treat persons in custody, and used this "light" form of torture. After a specific way of beating, body, legs and arms, it was detailed how to pour 4 cuartillos (approx. 2.5 liters) of water over mouth and nose, with a covering cloth, making sure there
6215-524: The Lord; for when it was over I thought that, by the help of the Lord, I had fought a good fight. Agents of the Dutch East India Company used a precursor to waterboarding during the Amboyna massacre of English prisoners, which took place on the island of Amboyna in the Molucca Islands in 1623. At that time, it consisted of wrapping cloth around the victim's head, after which the torturers "poured
6328-748: The Netherlands States General caused the two warring companies to conclude a Treaty of Defence in London in 1619 creating cooperation in the East Indies. The market in spices was divided between them in a fixed proportion of two to one (both companies having legal monopolies in their home markets); a Council of Defence was instituted in Batavia that was to govern the merchants of both companies; most important, those merchants were now to share trading posts peacefully, though each company
6441-541: The Portuguese in 1605, when Steven van der Hagen took over the fort without a single shot. Ambon was the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from 1610 to 1619 until the founding of Batavia (now Jakarta ) by the Dutch. About 1615 the English formed a settlement on the island at Cambello , which they retained until 1623, when the Dutch destroyed it. Frightful tortures inflicted on its unfortunate inhabitants were connected with its destruction. In 1654, after many fruitless negotiations, Oliver Cromwell compelled
6554-407: The Portuguese never managed to control the local trade in spices and failed in attempts to establish their authority over the Banda Islands , the nearby centre of nutmeg production. The creole trade language Portugis , however, was spoken well into the 19th century, and many families still have Portuguese names and claim Portuguese ancestry, for example Muskita and De Fretes. The Dutch dispossessed
6667-418: The Sultan of Ternate , who showed signs of intending to switch allegiance to the Spanish. Van Speult suspected the English of secretly stirring up these troubles. As a result, the Dutch at Amboyna became suspicious of the English traders that shared the trading post with them. These vague suspicions became concrete when in February 1623 one of the Japanese mercenary soldiers ( ronin , or masterless samurai in
6780-460: The accused was held down, and water was poured "from a dipper into the nose so as to strangle him, thus causing pain and horror, for the purpose of forcing a confession." The U.S. army used waterboarding, called the " water cure ", during the Philippine–American War . It is not clear where this practice came from; it probably was adopted from the Filipinos, who themselves adopted it from the Spanish. Reports of "cruelties" from soldiers stationed in
6893-400: The area, a goal that both governments had been pursuing for several years, and marked the beginning of Dutch ascendancy in the Indies. In the summer of 1623, the Englishmen who had been pardoned and acquitted sailed to Batavia and complained to the Dutch governor-general Pieter de Carpentier and the Council of Defence about the Amboyna affair, which they said was a false accusation based upon
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#17327732121417006-491: The board, rebounds into the mouth and nostrils of the victim, almost producing strangulation. Congestion, sometimes of the heart or lungs, sometimes of the brain, not unfrequently [ sic ] ensues; and death, in due season, has released some sufferers from the further ordeal of the water cure. As the water is administered officially, I suppose that it is not murder!" H. then went on to cite an 1847 New York law which limited prison discipline to individual confinement "upon
7119-735: The breathing passages, causing an almost immediate gag reflex and creating a drowning sensation for the captive. Normally, water is poured intermittently to prevent death; however, if the water is poured uninterruptedly it will lead to death by asphyxia . Waterboarding can cause extreme pain, damage to lungs , brain damage from oxygen deprivation , other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, and lasting psychological damage. Adverse physical effects can last for months, and psychological effects for years. The term "water board torture" appeared in press reports as early as 1976. Waterboarding has been used in diverse places and at various points in history, including
7232-424: The camp including a water pipeline. They were ordered to build an airfield and runway alongside the beach and cleared coconut trees for the task. They did all they could to sabotage construction. Conditions were horrendous and many men died due to disease, starvation and ill treatment by the Japanese. Many men also suffered blindness due to working chipping at the coral. Indonesia won its independence in 1945–49. As
7345-408: The cloth in a controlled manner. As this is done, the cloth is lowered until it covers both the nose and mouth. Once the cloth is saturated and completely covers the mouth and nose, air flow is slightly restricted for 20 to 40 seconds due to the presence of the cloth... During those 20 to 40 seconds, water is continuously applied from a height of twelve to twenty-four inches. After this period, the cloth
7458-409: The cloth. In this version, interrogation continued during the torture, with the interrogators beating the victim if he did not reply and the victim swallowing water if he opened his mouth to answer or breathe. When the victim could ingest no more water, the interrogators would beat or jump on his distended stomach. Chase J. Nielsen , one of the U.S. airmen who flew in the Doolittle raid following
7571-435: The conflict. Between 1999 and 2002, Ambon was at the centre of sectarian conflict across the Maluku Islands . In 2007, Ambon resident Leonard Joni Sinay was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment for treason after he and other activists protested a visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with a dance and a raising of the banned regional flag; both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called for his release,
7684-403: The court of inquiry wished to cross-examine the English witnesses. The English government balked at this demand because it felt it could not compel the witnesses to travel to the Republic. Besides, as the English based their case on the incompetence of the court to try employees of the EIC (according to the English interpretation of the Treaty of Defence), the executions were ipso facto illegal in
7797-431: The court under restrictive conditions. The draft-verdict of the court (an acquittal of the accused) was presented to the new English king Charles I in 1632 for approval (as agreed beforehand by the two governments). It was rejected, but the accused judges were released by the Dutch authorities. As part of Treaty of Westminster (1654) which ended the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654), a binational arbitration committee
7910-449: The direct application of physical violence to force a confession became a media issue and some courts began to deny obviously compelled confessions. The publication of this information in 1931 as part of the Wickersham Commission 's "Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement" led to a decline in the use of third degree police interrogation techniques in the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II , both Japanese military personnel, especially
8023-504: The employ of the VOC) was caught in the act of spying on the defenses of the fortress Victoria. When questioned under torture the soldier confessed to a conspiracy with other Japanese mercenaries to seize the fortress and assassinate the governor. He also implicated the head of the English factors, Gabriel Towerson , as a member of the conspiracy. Subsequently, Towerson and the other English personnel in Amboyna and adjacent islands were arrested and questioned. In most, but not all cases, torture
8136-478: The ensuing events. Despite the treaty, relations between the two companies remained tense. Both parties developed numerous grievances against each other including bad faith, non-performance of treaty-obligations, and "underhand" attempts to undercut each other in the relations with the indigenous rulers with whom they dealt. In the Amboyna region, local VOC-governor Herman van Speult had trouble, in late 1622, with
8249-462: The experience. On April 22, 2009, Fox News host Sean Hannity offered to be waterboarded for charity in order to prove that it did not amount to torture, though he did not follow through with it. In a May 11, 2009 interview with Larry King , former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura stated: [Waterboarding is] drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you—I'll put it to you this way, you give me
8362-437: The implication of my neighbor, Master Hans took water (during the entire time a cloth had lain on my face), and holding my nose shut with one hand, began to pour water on my abdomen and thence all over my breast, and into my mouth; even as one should drink when he is very thirsty. I think that the can from which he poured out – the water held about three pints. And when I was at the end of my breath, and wanted to fetch such, I drew
8475-555: The intense rivalry between the East India companies of England and the United Provinces in the spice trade and remained a source of tension between the two nations until late in the 17th century. From its inception, the Dutch Republic was at war with the Spanish crown (which was in a dynastic union with the Portuguese crown from 1580 to 1640). In 1598 the king of Spain embargoed Dutch trade with Portugal, and so
8588-576: The island is Ambonese Malay , also called Ambonese . It developed as the trade language of central Maluku and is spoken elsewhere in Maluku as a second language. The old creole trade language called Portugis has died out. Bilingualism in Indonesian is high around Ambon City. There have been strong religious tensions on the island between Muslims and Christians and ethnic tensions between indigenous Ambonese and migrants from Sulawesi , primarily Butonese , Bugis and Makassarese migrants. In 1512,
8701-711: The island of Samar , "where some of the worst abuses had occurred". When the court-martial found only that he had acted with excessive zeal, Roosevelt disregarded the verdict and had the General dismissed from the Army. Roosevelt soon declared victory in the Philippines, and the public lost interest in "what had, only months earlier, been alarming revelations". The use of " third degree interrogation " techniques to compel confession, ranging from "psychological duress such as prolonged confinement to extreme violence and torture",
8814-648: The latter organization designating him a prisoner of conscience . 15th century 16th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 16th century 17th century 15th century 16th century Portuguese India 17th century Portuguese India 18th century Portuguese India 16th century 17th century 19th century Portuguese Macau 20th century Portuguese Macau 15th century [Atlantic islands] 16th century [Canada] Waterboarding Waterboarding
8927-408: The legality of waterboarding. In May 2008, author and journalist Christopher Hitchens voluntarily underwent waterboarding and concluded that it was torture. He also noted that he suffered ongoing psychological effects from the ordeal. On May 22, 2009, radio talk show host Erich "Mancow" Muller subjected himself to waterboarding to prove that it is not torture, but changed his mind because of
9040-568: The level of torture, the statute requires that it be severe" and that waterboarding did not cause severe pain or suffering either physically or mentally. A separate memo in July 2002, written by the Defense Department's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency , described the use of waterboarding and other techniques of extreme duress as "torture" and said that its use could yield unreliable information, and warned that "The unintended consequence of
9153-640: The local diet. Nutmeg and cloves were once the dominant export crops but are now produced in limited quantities. Copra is also exported. Amboina wood, obtained from the angsana tree and highly valued for ornamental woodwork, is now mostly grown on Seram . The main employers in Ambon Island are the Gubernatorial Office (PEMDA), the Mayoral Office (PEMKOT), Raiders 733 (Indonesian military unit). The whole economy of Ambon Island
9266-583: The mercy (or otherwise) of those who are applying the pressure. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue Hospital / New York University Program for Survivors of Torture, has treated "a number of people" who had been subjected to forms of near-asphyxiation, including waterboarding. In an interview for The New Yorker , he argued that "it was indeed torture. 'Some victims were still traumatized years later', he said. One patient couldn't take showers, and panicked when it rained. 'The fear of being killed
9379-515: The monopoly to Ambon. Under the Dutch Empire , Ambon city was the seat of the Dutch resident and military commander of the Moluccas. The town was protected by Fort Victoria, and a 1902 Encyclopædia characterized it as "a clean little town with wide streets, well planted". The population was divided into two classes: orang burger or citizens and orang negri or villagers, the former being
9492-529: The most frequently used potro (or the rack ). This was used infrequently during the trial portion of the Spanish Inquisition process . "The toca , also called tortura del agua , consisted of introducing a cloth into the mouth of the victim, and forcing them to ingest water spilled from a jar so that they had the impression of drowning". William Schweiker claims that the use of water as a form of torture also had profound religious significance to
9605-523: The mountains of the neighboring Lease Islands are extinct volcanoes. Granite and serpentine rocks predominate, but the shores of Amboina Bay are of chalk and contain stalactite caves. Wild areas of Ambon Island are covered by tropical rainforest , part of the Seram rain forests ecoregion , together with neighboring Seram. Seram, Ambon, and most of Maluku are part of Wallacea , the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both
9718-605: The north of Ambon, was especially recalcitrant, while the southern peninsula Leitimor was largely Christianized and mostly stayed in the European orbit. Moreover, the autonomous governors for the Sultanate of Ternate in Hoamoal in western Seram Island held a generally anti-Dutch stance. All this led to a series of colonial wars during the 17th century. The leader of Hitu, Kakiali, led the resistance from his stronghold Wawani but
9831-539: The seismic hazard on the island is high in the future. The average temperature is 27 °C (81 °F), rarely falling below 22 °C (72 °F). Rainfall can be heavy, especially after the eastern monsoons , and the island is vulnerable to violent typhoons . The wet season (October to April) coincides with the period of the west monsoon. Cassava and sago are the chief crops, which also include breadfruit , sugarcane , coffee , cocoa , pepper and cotton . In addition to these, hunting and fishing supplement
9944-851: The sort of "severe pain" prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 2340 (the implementation in the United States of the United Nations Convention Against Torture ), that the psychological effects can last long after waterboarding ends (another of the criteria under 18 USC 2340), and that uninterrupted waterboarding can ultimately cause death. Waterboarding is considered to be torture by a wide range of authorities, including legal experts, politicians, war veterans, intelligence officials, military judges, and human rights organizations. David Miliband , then United Kingdom Foreign Secretary , described it as torture on 19 July 2008, and stated "the UK unreservedly condemns
10057-499: The southwest coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea , part of a chain of volcanic islands that encircle the sea. It is 51 kilometres (32 miles) long and is of very irregular shape, being almost divided in two by a large inlet ( Ambon Bay ). The southeastern and smaller portion, (thereby forming a peninsula called Leitimur) is united to the larger northern portion (called Leihitu or Hitoe) by
10170-565: The spice trade by keeping out the factors of other European countries by force of arms. This especially caused strife with the English East India Company while the actions of the interloper Sir Edward Michelborne incensed the Dutch. Unavoidably, the national governments got involved, and this threatened the congenial relations between James I of England and the Dutch States General . King James I and
10283-539: The term waterboarding probably has its origin in the need for a euphemism . The practice of waterboarding has differed. During the Algerian War of Independence and Marcos' dictatorship in the Philippines, waterboarding involved forcing the victim to swallow or inhale water. Other forms of waterboarding prevent water from entering the lungs. The United States Army 's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training occasionally included waterboarding, in
10396-478: The throat. And thus I became so weak. that I fainted; for, when I recovered from my swoon, I found myself alone with Master Hans and Daniel de Keyser. And Master Hans was so busily engaged in loosing all my cords, that it seemed to me that they were concerned over me. But the Lord in a large degree took away my pain every time; whenever it became so severe that I thought it was impossible to bear it, my members became as dead. Eternal praise, thanks, honor, and glory be to
10509-534: The time, ambassador Carleton had procured its suppression as a "libel" by the States General. However, an English minister in Flushing , John Winge , inadvertently translated it and sent it to England, where it displeased the East India Company. The East India Company brochure contained the gruesome details of the tortures, as related in its original "Relation". The massacre was used as casus belli for
10622-504: The torturers pulled the mask from his face, allowing him to breathe. Hitchens, who had previously expressed skepticism over waterboarding being considered a form of torture, changed his mind. Hitchens said of the matter: You may have read by now the official lie about this treatment, which is that it “simulates” the feeling of drowning. This is not the case. You feel that you are drowning because you are drowning—or, rather, being drowned, albeit slowly and under controlled conditions and at
10735-590: The type of mental anguish required for torture". Many former senior George W. Bush administration officials, on the other hand, have seriously questioned or directly challenged the legality of waterboarding. These include former State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow , former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage , former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge , former head of the Office of Legal Counsel Jack Goldsmith , General Ricardo Sanchez , FBI Director Robert Mueller , and former Convening Authority for
10848-406: The use of certain interrogation techniques. It included the following account of the CIA's definition of waterboarding in a Top Secret 2002 memorandum as follows: In this procedure, the individual is bound securely to an inclined bench, which is approximately four feet by seven feet. The individual's feet are generally elevated. A cloth is placed over the forehead and eyes. Water is then applied to
10961-750: The use of torture". Arguments have been put forward in the United States that it might not be torture in all cases, or that it is unclear. The U.S. State Department has recognized "submersion of the head in water" as torture in other circumstances, for example, in its 2005 Country Report on Tunisia . The United Nations ' Report of the Committee Against Torture: Thirty-fifth Session of November 2006, stated that state parties should rescind any interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, that constitutes torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Whether waterboarding should be classified as
11074-476: The videos, each correspondent is held against a board by the torturers. Christopher Hitchens voluntarily subjected himself to a filmed demonstration of waterboarding in 2008, an experience which he recounted in Vanity Fair . He was bound on a horizontal board with a black mask over his face. A group of men said to be highly trained in this tactic, who demanded anonymity, carried out the torture. Hitchens
11187-586: The water all into my body, whereupon I suffered such distress, that it would be impossible for me to relate or describe it; but the Lord be forever praised: He kept my lips. And when they could still not obtain anything from me, they caused the cord which was on my thigh to be loosed and applied to a fresh place, and wound it much tighter than before, so that I thought he would kill me, and began to shake and tremble greatly. He then proceeded to pour water into me again, so that I think he emptied four such cans, and my body became so full of it, that twice it came out again at
11300-550: The water softly upon his head until the cloth was full, up to the mouth and nostrils, and somewhat higher, so that he could not draw breath but he must suck in all the water". In one case, the torturer applied water three or four times successively until the victim's "body was swollen twice or thrice as big as before, his cheeks like great bladders, and his eyes staring and strutting out beyond his forehead". An editorial in The New York Times of 6 April 1852, and
11413-470: The word torture to describe waterboarding. Due to criticism of the policy by the media and to NPR directly, a second piece was written to further explain their position and a desire to describe the technique rather than simply describe it as torture. A form of torture similar to waterboarding is called toca , and more recently "Spanish water torture", to differentiate it from the better known Chinese water torture , along with garrucha (or strappado ) and
11526-577: Was attacking one of a pair of troop ships in an Indonesian fleet west of Ambon Island. The B-26 was brought down by fire from both Dewanto and shipborne anti-aircraft gunners. Pope and his Indonesian radio operator bailed out and were captured, which immediately exposed the level of CIA support for the Permesta rebellion. Embarrassed, the Eisenhower administration quickly ended CIA support for Permesta and withdrew its agents and remaining aircraft from
11639-418: Was drowning, just gasping between life and death." In 2007, Senator John McCain said that the United States military hanged Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American prisoners of war during World War II. A minimal sentence for Japanese soldiers convicted of waterboarding American soldiers was 15 years. The technique was also used during the Algerian War (1954–1962). French journalist Henri Alleg , who
11752-557: Was established which ordered that reparations be paid by the VOC to the heirs of the English victims of the massacre. Towerson's heirs and others received £3,615 and the EIC £85,000 from the VOC. The East India Company was unhappy with the outcome, and in 1632 its directors published an exhaustive brochure, comprising all the relevant papers, with extensive comments and rebuttals of the Dutch position. The Dutch had already sought to influence public opinion with an anonymous pamphlet, probably authored by its secretary, Willem Boreel in 1624. At
11865-436: Was found guilty and "sentenced to a one-month suspension and a fifty-dollar fine", the leniency of the sentence due to the "circumstances" presented at the trial. President Theodore Roosevelt privately rationalized the instances of "mild torture, the water cure" but publicly called for efforts to "prevent the occurrence of all such acts in the future". In that effort, he ordered the court-martial of General Jacob H. Smith on
11978-526: Was murdered by a traitor in 1643, after which Wawani was stormed by the VOC troops and their local allies. A last stand was made by Telukibesi who held out with 300 fighters in the elevated and inaccessible fortification Kapahaha. In July 1646, finally, the VOC troops found a steep track to scale the rock and conquered Kapahaha after a bitter fight. The defeat and death of Telukibesi broke resistance on Ambon Island. However, another conflict involving Hoamoal and several surrounding islands broke out in 1651, known as
12091-449: Was some cloth introduced in the mouth so water could also get in. In Joos de Damhouder's Praxis rerum criminalium (1554), a manual on the practice of criminal law, the chapter on torture and interrogation is illustrated with a woodcut of waterboarding, which it describes in detail. The Martyr's Mirror depicts one incident of waterboarding used against the early Mennonites thus: And as they did still not obtain anything from me, to
12204-401: Was strapped to the board at the chest and feet, face up, and unable to move. Metal objects were placed in each of his hands, which he could drop if feeling "unbearable stress", and he was given a code word that, if said, would immediately end the exercise. The interrogator placed a towel over Hitchens' face and poured water on it. After 16 seconds, Hitchens threw the metal objects to the floor and
12317-556: Was subjected to waterboarding by French paratroopers in Algeria in 1957, is one of only a few people to have described in writing the first-hand experience of being waterboarded. His book La Question , published in 1958 with a preface by Jean-Paul Sartre subsequently banned in France until the end of the Algerian War in 1962, discusses the experience of being strapped to a plank, having his head wrapped in cloth and positioned beneath
12430-513: Was to retain and police the posts it had occupied. The Dutch interpreted this latter provision to mean that each company had legal jurisdiction over the employees of both companies in the places it administered. Contrarily, the English maintained, on the basis of the arbitration-article 30 of the treaty, that only the Council of Defence would have jurisdiction over employees of the "other" company. This proved to be an important difference of opinion in
12543-479: Was tortured during his 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War —has stated unequivocally several times that he considers waterboarding to be torture: waterboarding, ...is a mock execution and thus an exquisite form of torture. As such, they are prohibited by American laws and values, and I oppose them. Professors such as Wilson R. Huhn have also challenged
12656-502: Was used during the questioning. Torture consisted of having water poured over the head, around which a cloth was draped, bringing the interrogated repeatedly close to suffocation (this is today called waterboarding ). This was the usual interrogative procedure in the Dutch East Indies at the time. According to the English version of events, even more sadistic forms of torture were used. The accused conspirators were stretched on
12769-624: Was widespread in early American policing. Lassiter classified the water cure as "orchestrated physical abuse", and described the police technique as a "modern day variation of the method of water torture that was popular during the Middle Ages". The technique employed by the police involved either holding the head in water until almost drowning, or laying on the back and forcing water into the mouth or nostrils. Such techniques were classified as "'covert' third degree torture" since they left no signs of physical abuse, and became popular after 1910 when
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