[JURIST] At least two dozen former and current detainees have alleged that they were either forcibly administered drugs or witnessed the forceful administration of drugs on other detainees while in US custody, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The detainees, held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] and other sites, said in interviews and court documents that they did not know what drugs they were given, but that they believed they were intended to make detainees more pliant during interrogation. The Pentagon and the CIA have both denied using drugs for that purpose, but accusations have been fueled by the release of a 2003 DOJ memorandum [PDF text; JURIST report] earlier this month endorsing the use of drugs in interrogations. The Washington Post has more.

The DOJ memo showed that the department approved a wide range of interrogation methods for the military to use - the same broad limits that the DOJ had earlier approved for the CIA. The 81-page memo was later rescinded.