Sunday, March 06, 2005

Newly Released Army Documents Detail Ongoing Abuse of Detainees by U.S. Forces

Newly Released Army Documents Detail Ongoing Abuse of Detainees by U.S. Forces
American Civil Liberties Union

NEW YORK - The latest round of investigative files released to the American Civil Liberties Union document an ongoing pattern of widespread abuses of detainees by U.S. military forces in Iraq, the ACLU said today.


ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said that the documents provide further evidence -- if any were required -- of the need for an independent special counsel and Congressional hearings to investigate the abuses. "Pieces of the puzzle are still missing," Romero said. "An outside special counsel is the only way to ensure that all civilians who violated, or conspired to violate, the laws are held responsible for their crimes."


In an unusual move, the Army released approximately 1,200 pages of documents to a select group of reporters late yesterday and today, along with a press statement and fact sheet purporting to explain the disposition of the incidents...

Some of the files that raise questions include:

  • A description of a DVD called "Ramadi Madness" that included scenes of soldiers kicking a flexicuffed prisoner who reportedly later died; using a dead prisoner’s body to "wave hello"; and joyriding in a prisoner’s van while yelling profanities at Iraqi civilians. Copies of the DVD were destroyed in January 2004 by a sergeant after he learned the incident was under investigation. No soldier was charged in relation to the making of the DVD or the incidents depicted in it.
  • A report on complaints by a civilian interrogator who described "harsh interrogations and inhumane conduct" by some interrogators and guards during April and May of 2004. He said he was reporting the conduct even though "every harsh interrogation were (sic) approved" by Task Force 6-26 personnel. The interrogator said he was transferred three weeks after he arrived because "I refused to conduct my interrogations inhumanely."
  • A report on an investigation initiated after Playboy Magazine published an article in May 2004 titled "Death and Dishonor," alleging that soldiers of the 1/15th Infantry Battalion, 3d Brigade, 3d Infantry Division (Ft. Benning, GA), committed numerous war crimes. The article reported that soldiers assigned to the Brigade raped Iraqi women, shot an unarmed Iraqi and stuck their fingers into a prisoner’s wounds. The investigation concluded that "there was no credible information" to substantiate the allegations and was closed in late July 2004.

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