A group of big-name musicians — including Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and dozens of others — is demanding the White House release information about which songs were played at high volume to punish or interrogate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
According to the Washington Post, the musicians announced today they support a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the National Security Archive, a research institute.
The government has been blasting detainees with music since 2002. But the current administration says they ended the practice when President Obama took office.
Human rights groups call the practice torture.
Prisoners have reported most often hearing rap, heavy metal and country, specifically naming “We Are the Champions” by Queen and “March of the Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails.
Another former prisoner, Binyam Mohamed, told Human Rights Watch that he had been forced to listen to the rapper Eminem’s song “The Real Slim Shady” for 20 days.
“Music should never be used as torture,” said Cash. “It’s beyond the pale. It’s hard to even think about.”
