A U.S.-based human rights organization alleges that detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq were routinely subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, stress positions and other forms of abuse by American interrogators.
In a report released Sunday, New York based Human Rights Watch said the findings come from first-hand accounts from U.S. military personnel.
The report alleges that detainee abuse was an established and apparently authorized part of the detention and interrogation process.
Human Rights Watch used the report to call for a Congressional investigation into the scope of detainee abuse and allegations of involvement by higher level officials.
But the U.S. Defense Department has said that multiple reviews of prisoner interrogation methods have concluded that no uniformed or civilian leaders directed or encouraged the prisoner abuses committed in Iraq.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.