Testimony of Erik Trupin

The Pentagon has refused repeated requests by Omar [Khadr]'s lawyers for an independent medical examination. In an attempt to assess his mental well being, Ahmad and Wilson [Omar Khadr's lawyers] administered two psychological tests themselves in late 2004 and in the Spring of 2005. The first, the Mini Mental State Examination or the Folstein test […] was devised to screen for dementia […] | After Washington's censors cleared the results, Omar's answers for the Folstein test were given to Dr. Erik Trupin who has extensively investigated the effects of incarceration on teenagers. Trupin reported that there was a "high probability" that Omar was suffering from a "significant mental disorder, including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder and depression." Trupin concluded that Omar was experiencing symptoms "consistent with those exhibited by victims of torture and abuse." | "The impact on an adolescent such as [Omar Khadr] who has been isolated for over two-and-a-half years is potentially catastrophic to his future development. Long-term consequences of extended confinement are both more pronounced for adolescents and more difficult to remediate or treat even after solitary confinement is discontinued." Trupin wrote (Michelle Shephard, Guantanamo's Child, pp. 173f).

The passage continues in an article for the Rolling Stone (get full version here) as follows:

"… particularly if the victim is uncertain as to whether they will resume. It is my opinion, to a reasonable scientific certainty, that O.K.'s continued subjection to the threat of physical and mental abuse places him at significant risk for future psychiatric deterioration, which may include irreversible psychiatric symptoms and disorders, such as a psychosis with treatment-resistant hallucinations, paranoid delusions and persistent self-harming attempts." (Jeff Tietz, "The Unending Torture of Omar Khadr." Rolling Stone, August 24, 2006).