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US soldiers told to beat
detainees
By William Fisher
NEW YORK - US Army documents dragged into
the public domain under freedom-of-information
legislation appear to show that the mistreatment
of detainees in Iraq was much more widespread than
the government has admitted - and that
authorization of abuses that led to torture and
even death came from high in the chain of command.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
is also charging that the US Army failed to comply
with a court order to release the documents and
manipulated the media "to minimize coverage and
public access". The ACLU said the reason for the
delay in delivering the more than 1,200 pages of
documents was "evident in the contents", which
include reports of brutal beatings, "exercise
until exhaustion", and sworn statements that
soldiers were told to "beat the f**k out of"
detainees. One file cites evidence that military
intelligence personnel in Iraq "tortured"
detainees held in their custody.
The
treatment was reportedly meant to "soften up"
detainees for interrogation. It occurred at the
same time guards at the Abu Ghraib prison near
Baghdad were carrying out similar tactics.
Army officials also released the first
full accounting of 16 closed detainee-homicide
investigations and eight open cases from
Afghanistan and Iraq. The list shows that half of
the cases (12) occurred in US detention facilities
abroad from late 2002 to late 2004.
In
addition, the ACLU has disclosed a September 14,
2003, memo signed by Lieutenant-General Ricardo A
Sanchez, then senior commander of US forces in
Iraq, authorizing 29 interrogation techniques,
including 12 that "far exceeded limits established
by the army's own Field Manual". The Sanchez memo
allows for interrogation techniques involving the
use of military dogs specifically to "exploit Arab
fear of dogs", sensory deprivation and stress
positions.
"At a minimum, the documents
indicate a colossal failure of leadership," said
ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer. "The documents provide
further evidence that abuse of prisoners was
pervasive in Iraq. The government's contention
that abuse was aberrational is completely unhinged
from reality."
The documents were supposed
to have been turned over to the ACLU on March 21
but were not released until late on March 25 - the
Friday preceding Easter weekend.
"Select
reporters received a CD-ROM with the documents
before they were given to the ACLU," the group
said.
The documents - along with more than
30,000 to date - were released in response to a
federal court order that directed the Defense
Department and other government agencies to comply
with a year-old request under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) filed by the ACLU, the
Center for Constitutional Rights, Physicians for
Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and
Veterans for Peace. The New York Civil Liberties
Union is co-counsel in the case.
The
newest documents include:
Evidence of abuse of a teenage detainee: A
high-school student had his jaw broken, requiring
his mouth to be wired shut, and could eat only
through a straw. The victim was told "to say that
I've fallen down and no one beat me". The army
report concluded that the broken jaw was caused
either as a result of a blow by a US soldier or a
collapse due to "complete muscle failure" from
being excessively exercised.
Death of a detainee with no history of medical
problems: Abu Malik Kenami died while in detention
in Mosul, Iraq. On the day he died, Kenami had
been "punished with several ups and downs - a
correctional technique of having a detainee stand
up and then sit down rapidly, always keeping them
in constant motion ... and [had] his hands
flex-cuffed behind his back". He was also hooded,
with "a sandbag placed over [his] head". The file
states that "the cause of Abu Malik Kenami's death
will never be known because an autopsy was never
performed on him".
Soldiers were told to "beat the f**k out of
detainees": Army documents include sworn
statements that soldiers were told in August 2003
to "take the detainee[s] out back and beat the
f**k out of them".
Perceptions of chain-of-command endorsement of
retribution: A military intelligence team saw
soldiers kicking blindfolded and "zipcuffed"
detainees several times in the sides while yelling
profanities at them. The investigation concludes
that at least three military personnel abused the
detainees. It adds that some of the soldiers "may
perceive that the chain of command is endorsing
'payback' by allowing the units most affected by
suspected detainee actions to play the greatest
role in bringing those suspects to justice".
In a separate development, the Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR), which joined the ACLU
in the FOIA case, said "at least 26 prisoners who
died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan
since 2002 were likely the victims of criminal
homicide".
CCR released a series of
documents surrounding one unexplained death in
Mosul obtained through an FOIA request with the
ACLU, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for
Common Sense, and Veterans for Peace. CCR said the
documents derive from "what appears to be a very
brief investigation of the death of a prisoner" in
December 2003 in an Army Brigade Holding Area in
Mosul.
One soldier reported, "He continued
to mess with his mask/sandbag, so I took his
handcuffs off and put them behind his back and
smoked him for another 20 minutes before I sat him
down." At night, the prisoner had to sleep with
the sandbag on his head and his hands cuffed
behind his back. On the morning of the fourth day,
he was found dead in his cell. According to the
report, an autopsy was supposed to be performed,
but no record of it was provided. As the result of
another investigation, the army has decided not to
prosecute 17 US soldiers implicated in the deaths
of three prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003
and 2004, according to a new accounting released
by the army last week.
Investigators had
recommended that all 17 soldiers be charged in the
cases, according to the accounting by the Army
Criminal Investigation Command. The charges
included murder, conspiracy and negligent
homicide.
The Defense Department declined
to comment further on any of its reports.
(Inter Press
Service) |
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