(Washington)  The President of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), Linda Gustitus, issued the following statement regarding the report by the Department of Justice Inspector General on the role and responsibility of the FBI with respect to the interrogation of detainees.

"The Inspector General's report shows the widespread use of immoral and illegal interrogation techniques by the United States government.  These illegal techniques included short-shackling, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, physical beatings, sexual intimidation, exploitation of phobias and isolation, and other abusive techniques.  While many FBI field agents deserve to be praised for reporting and refusing to participate in the abuse of detainees, the report provides extensive confirmation of the systematic use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.  It is time for Congress to exercise its oversight powers to investigate this conduct so that the American people can learn the details of who was involved, what was done, how many detainees were subjected to illegal treatment, who ordered the illegal treatment, and how many people died or were permanently injured because of illegal treatment."

"The Inspector General's report also shows that, aside from being immoral and illegal, the abusive interrogation techniques used by CIA and DOD interrogators have repeatedly been ineffective at obtaining useful information from detainees and that the use of such techniques against detainees may hinder further prosecution of those detainees."

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is a coalition of over 190 religious organizations working together to abolish U.S.-sponsored torture.