The water glistens as it arcs through the air, the edgy electronic
soundtrack creating a sense of anticipation.
Not the latest advert for a luxury brand of bottled water,
but a disturbing new film depicting the process of waterboarding,
the controversial interrogation method used by US security
services.
Instead of splashing into a glass, the water is shown falling
into the face of an Arab-looking man, whose mouth is held
open by a gloved hand. He wails and shakes in his shackles,
but the three hooded men carrying out the interrogation are
unmoved.
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The 15-rated advert, made by Amnesty International, will
be shown in selected cinemas across Britain from next month.
It has been created to show what Amnesty claims is the harrowing
reality of waterboarding, which involves restraining a prisoner
on a board with the subject's head lower than his feet. Water
is then poured on the face, triggering a gag reflex and choking
the subject.
The CIA has admitted carrying out the treatment on at least
three al-Qa'eda suspects - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah
and Abdul-Rahim al-Nashiri - but says that no waterboarding
has been carried out since 2003. It was halted by Gen Michael
Hayden, the CIA director, in 2006.
