Using music as a weapon at Guantánamo

For years, US interrogators at Guantánamo used painfully loud music on prisoners at Camp Delta. Ruhal Ahmed, now 28, is back at home in Tipton, a small city near Birmingham. He was released in March 2004, after spending more than two years in the American military prison, where he was often tortured with extremely loud music. Prisoners were strung up by their wrists for days while being blasted with music. Director Michael Winterbottom’s award-winning film “Road to Guantánamo” is based on the experiences of the Tipton Three — and a journey that went terribly wrong.

Some musicians have now sharply criticized the practice, including the British trip-hoppers Massive Attack, American industrial rock musician Trent Reznor and country star Rosanne Cash. They are demanding that pop not be used as a weapon, and they want to know how their music is being used in American prison.