Physicians for Human Rights
Using science and medicine to stop human rights violationsScott Allen, MD
Dr. Scott Allen serves as Medical Advisor for PHR's work in stopping torture, and was Lead Medical Author of PHR's 2010 report Experiments in Torture.
Dr. Allen began his work in health and human rights at the age of 17 in Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand, listening to the stories of those who had escaped the Khmer Rouge's torture and killing fields. Nine months later, overwhelmed, he returned home. He has returned often to Southeast Asia in the years since.
Scott went on to attend the Alpert Medical School at Brown University, where he graduated at the top of his class. As a medical student, he often accompanied two of his professors to Rhode Island's state prison to assist in giving medical care to inmates. He has since devoted his career to working in correctional facilities, focusing on health care and rights for prisoners and other under-served populations. For seven years he was a full time physician for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and from 2001-2004 acted as the department’s Medical Program Supervisor. In 2004, Scott left that position and joined PHR in its investigations into the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the examination of the Bush Administration's interrogation program, particularly the participation of health professionals.
In 2007, Dr. Allen served as the lead researcher for PHR’s report on “enhanced” interrogation techniques titled Leave No Marks: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and the Risk of Criminality. He has worked extensively with PHR in efforts to ensure that the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare (NCCHC), and the American Psychological Association (APA) prohibit illegal and unethical practices of health professionals.
Today, Dr. Allen splits his time among Physicians for Human Rights, his position at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, and the Eleanor Slater Hospital, in Cranston RI, where he is an attending physician in the mental health ward.
Blog Posts by Scott Allen, MD
- Further Evidence of Medical Monitoring of CIA Torture (March 16, 2009)
PHR Reports by Scott Allen, MD
- Crucial Senate Hearing on Indefinite Detention Includes PHR Testimony by Dr. Scott Allen (March 1, 2012)
- Experiments in Torture (June 1, 2010)
- Aiding Torture: Health Professionals' Ethics and Human Rights Violations Demonstrated in the May 2004 CIA Inspector General's Report (August 31, 2009)
- Leave No Marks (August 2, 2007)
Articles & Opinion Pieces by Scott Allen, MD
- War Without End, New York Times (February 22, 2012)
