London, September 12 : If reports are to be believed, the US military is training psychiatrists to interrogate terrorism suspects, in defiance of internationally agreed codes of conduct which bar doctors from involvement in interrogation.

“It undermines the notion of psychiatrists as healers, and undermines trust in the profession,” Jonathan Marks, a professor of bioethics and law at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, told New Scientist.

From documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Marks discovered that five US army psychiatrists had been trained between July 2006 and October 
2007.

The American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association and the World Medical Association all have policies condemning the use of psychiatric advice in “softening up” detainees. (ANI)