Col James Hughes, captured in Vietnam and pictured being frogmarched at gunpoint through the streets, said he felt sorry for them.

"I just hope they are not being treated like animals. They deserve the right to a proper trial," he told The Mirror.

American Hero: Colonel James Hughes

Colonel Hughes, 74 - who endured nearly six years of torture and still has nightmares about his ordeal - added: "We pride ourselves in this country for being fair.

"There's no need for us to resort to torture in order to get the truth out of people.

"I don't believe in the sort of treatment that's akin to inflicting cigarette burns on people or pulling off their fingernails.

"Justice must be served from both ends. From what I can gather these people are being kept in appalling conditions. Maybe it's time to ease up a little."

But he added: "Let's not forget what they're suspected of doing.

"If only a handful of them are guilty then we must try them and punish them."

From his home in Magnolia, Arkansas, he went on: "If anyone's qualified in this subject it's me.

"I went through terrible beatings and almost starved to death during my captivity. Once I blacked out for over a week.

"It's a miracle I'm still alive. My captors told me the only reason they didn't kill me was because I was a useful bargaining tool.

"I'm enormously concerned about the welfare of anyone who's being held in captivity.

"We are human beings who deserve to treat each other as we expect to be treated.

"This may sound like a cliche but it's very true."

Of the Bush administration's refusal to classify the detainees as prisoners of war - which would give them rights under the Geneva Convention - he said: "I guess Mr Bush has his reasons for this."

Hughes, who says he is "fiercely patriotic", praised the role of Tony Blair, saying: "I respect and love the unity between Great Britain and the United States. It's very important we stay together and unite against the forces of evil.

"Tony Blair seems an honorable man - I just hope he and Mr Bush listen to all sides before making any important decisions.

"We have to make sure we don't let these monsters off the hook - but we have to make sure we're picking on the right people."

Hughes suffered appalling torture at the hands of the Viet Cong.

The Air Force colonel's ordeal began on May 5 1967 when his F105 was shot down during a bombing raid over what was then North Vietnam.

He managed to eject but was knocked unconscious and did not come round until just before he landed on the ground.

A large angry crowd stripped him naked and threw him into a pig sty.

He was later blindfolded and taken to Hanoi, where the photograph of him being paraded through the streets at gunpoint enraged America. He said: "They marched me through the streets with a bayonet on each side of my stomach.

"Of course I was terrified. Don't forget I was blindfolded and couldn't see what was happening.

"I remember thinking, 'This is what it's like to be a casualty of war'. I asked God to forgive whoever was doing this to me.

"Eventually I was taken to the prison camp which we called the Hanoi Hilton, where I stayed for six years. It seemed like I'd been there 60 years by the time I got out."

He was held at the camp with 360 American PoWs. "I was taken straight to the Meat Room, so called because of the bolts in the ceiling that could be used to string things up, such as PoWs who defied them," he recalled.

Hughes was shackled to an 8ft iron bar and handcuffed.

"They tightened the cuffs with a mechanical rachet, breaking the skin and causing the hands to swell like five bananas," he said.

His elbows were roped together behind him and his head forced down between his shins.

A brutal guard cracked his right rib cage by hitting him with a judo punch while tightening his bonds.

Hughes added: "They exploited me at every turn of the road. The tortures were varied, such as interrogating me all night and then one could not lie down during the day. Sometimes this would cover a 10-day period."

To avoid being used for propaganda films he deliberately starved himself until he weighed barely 100lbs.

"With this routine I became in an emaciated and seemingly unstable condition and was able to survive without further exploitation."

He had to blank out all thoughts of home and family. "To sustain any form of sanity I had to block out that part of my life.

"I could not take the physical punishment if I subjected myself to mental punishment as well."

Despite the tortures the PoWs organised a riot and won the right to hold a weekly religious service.

"It was our greatest triumph," said Hughes.

Copyright 2002 mirror.co.uk

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