# Geneva Convention and showing pictures of POWs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geneva-convention-and-showing-pictures-of-pows/164340>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 26, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geneva-convention-and-showing-pictures-of-pows/164340 "2003-03-26T18:15:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geneva-convention-and-showing-pictures-of-pows/164340/1 "2003-03-26T18:15:18Z")

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What is it about showing pictures of POWs that goes against the Geneva Convention? Or is there more to it than just “showing pictures”, i.e. showing them being tortured or something?

Also, didn’t we show pictures of captured Al-Qaeda prisoners back when we went into Afghanistan? What’s the difference and why wasn’t THAT against the Geneva Convention? (My guess is because technically they weren’t “POWs”, they were “Enemy Combatants” and therefore not subject to the same treatment as POWs, although that seems like awful fine hair-splitting to me.)

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**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geneva-convention-and-showing-pictures-of-pows/164340/2 "2003-03-26T20:08:05Z")

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From the [Geneva Conventions](http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/party_gc) - **Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War**:

> [@](#):
>
> Art 13. Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.
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> Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.
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> Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited.

There is a difference between showing pictures/film of POWs and putting them on public display. Both the US and Iraq are signatories of the Geneva Conventions, and are therefore bound by the Conventions in this case.