US army report on prison abuse depicts gory picture
By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug 26: The official US Army report on prison abuses in Iraq depicts a gory picture; detailing physical and mental torture, rape, and at least one death in US custody at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
The report, prepared by Gen Paul J. Kern, Lt-Gen Anthony R. Jones and Maj-Gen George R. Fay, starts detailing the abuses from September 15, 2003, when the US Military Intelligence is shown to have ordered the use of isolation, light deprivation, stripping naked and other similar tactics on Iraqi prisoners.
On October 7, three MI personnel allegedly took a female detainee from her cell to an empty one, where one held her hands behind her back and another forcibly kissed her. She said she was taken to another cell, where she was shown a naked male detainee and told the same would happen to her if she did not co-operate.
She was then taken back to her cell, forced to kneel and raise her arms while a soldier removed her shirt. When she began to cry, her shirt was returned and the soldier cursed at her and said they would be back each night.
A detainee, considered of potentially high value, was interrogated on October 8, 21 and 29, November 4 and 23 and December 5. He was left naked in his cell for extended periods, cuffed in his cell in stressful positions, left with a bag over his head for extended periods, and denied bedding or blankets.
He was beaten with a broom and a chemical light was broken and poured over his body. During this abuse a police stick was used to sodomize the detainee and two female MPs were hitting him, throwing a ball at his private parts, and taking photographs.
On October 17, a photograph was taken depicting a naked detainee chained to his cell door with a hood on his head. Several other photographs taken on October 18 depict a hooded detainee cuffed to his cell door. Additional photographs on October 19 depict a detainee cuffed to his bed with underwear on his head.
On October 20, a detainee was allegedly stripped and physically abused for sharpening a toothbrush to make a shank. He said he was taken to a closed room where he had cold water poured on him and his face was forced into someone's urine. He claimed he was then beaten with a broom and spat upon, and a female soldier stood on his legs and pressed a broom against his anus.
On October 25, three photographs were taken depicting an MP holding a leash that was wrapped around an unidentified detainee's neck. On October 25, three detainees were stripped of their clothing, handcuffed together, placed on the ground, and forced to lie on each other and simulate sex while photographs were taken.
Results of the CID investigation indicate on several occasions, over several days detainees were assaulted, abused and forced to strip off their clothing and perform indecent acts on each other.
On October 27, a detainee recalled being stripped of his clothing for six days and then given a blanket for three more days. After interrogation, two MPs beat him, hit him with a chair and choked him until he lost consciousness. On other occasions, an MP would throw his food into the toilet and say, "go take it and eat it."
On November 4, a CIA detainee died in custody in tier 1B. He was reportedly resisting arrest, and a US soldier butt-stroked him on the side of the head to suppress the threat he posed.
On November 4, six photographs were taken of a detainee, depicting him standing on a box with simulated electrical wires attached to his fingers and a hood over his head.
On November 7 and 8, twenty-nine photos were taken depicting seven detainees who were physically abused, placed in a pile and forced to indulge in sexual activities. On November 18, a photograph was taken depicting a detainee dressed in a shirt or blanket lying on the floor with a banana inserted into his private part.
Other pictures show the same detainee covered in feces, with his hands encased in sandbags, or tied in foam and between two stretchers. On November 24, a detained Syrian shot an MP with a smuggled pistol and was subsequently shot and wounded. The report also notes during the interrogations of the Iraqi Police, harsh and unauthorized techniques were employed to include the use of dogs and removal of clothing.
On November 29, three photographs were taken depicting an unidentified detainee dressed only in his underwear, standing with each foot on a separate box, and bent over at the waist.
On December 12, a detainee was bitten by a dog. This incident appears to be the result of MP harassment. On December 14 and 15, military working dogs were used in an interrogation. A civilian and two soldiers, who participated in the interrogation, believed they had authority to use the dogs from superior officers.
On December 15, dogs were used in an interrogation of a detainee. On December 18, a photograph depicts a Syrian detainee kneeling on the floor with his hands bound behind his back and a military dog handler standing in front of him with his dog a few feet from the detainee's face. The dog is leashed, but not muzzled.
On January 3, a US soldier heard a dog handler say he had a competition with another handler to see if they could scare detainees to the point that they would defecate.
NO DATE GIVEN: A civilian interpreter raped a 15- to 18-year-old male detainee. Another detainee said he witnessed the incident. No date given: Several detainees are stripped of their clothing and forced to wear women's underwear on their heads.
