Sesame Street Used for Torture at Guantanamo

At the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, apparently not only is heavy metal music used to torment suspects, but music from the kids’ program “Sesame Street” is also misused as an instrument of torture.

The internment camp opened in 2002 at Guantanamo Bay is considered by many critics as a symbol of the disregard for the rule of law and human rights in America’s war on terror.

In 2008, it was learned that suspects interned there were tortured by way of forcing them to hear constant aggressive music. Heavy metal songs were extensively played at high volume — songs like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

A new documentary film released by al-Jazeera now reveals that noticeably more sedate music was also used for the same purpose. One prisoner said that he was constantly subjected to music from Sesame Street, played on an endless loop.

Christopher Cerf, a composer for the television series for preschoolers, was outraged at the news. He told al-Jazeera that he was initially inclined not to believe the story, adding that he found the idea of anyone using his music to inflict pain and to force detainees to make statements was unbearable for him.

It’s not the first time that music has been used to break prisoners down, as was reported by the Huffington Post. In 2003, prisoners of war in Iraq had also been terrorized with Sesame Street.