Reader Profile: Ateqah Khaki

Ateqah Khaki is a member of the ACLU’s National Security Project, where she works on advocacy, communications, and public education projects and campaigns. She has helped develop and organize several “Reckoning with Torture” events for the ACLU and its affiliates, and is a co-producer for the ACLU video interview series “Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo.” Prior to joining the ACLU, Ateqah worked as a publicist for Riptide Communications, a human rights and social justice-focused public relations firm that works with non-profit organizations. Ateqah will read from autopsy and death reports of detainees held in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Excerpt from a series of autopsy and death reports of detainees held in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Autopsy Number:  ME 03-504. . . . Date of Death: November 4 th, 2003.  [A]n Iraqi National, died while detained at the Abu Ghraib prison where he was held for interrogations by government agencies.  Fractures of the ribs and a contusion of the left lung imply significant blunt force injuries of the thorax and likely resulted in impaired respiration. . . . [I]nterviews taken from individuals present during the interrogation indicate that a hood was placed over the head and neck of the detainee.  This likely resulted in further compromise of effective respiration. 

Cause of Death:  Blunt Force Injuries Complicated by Compromised Respiration

Manner of Death:  Homicide