Iraq abuse : Murder, torture, sodomy - whitewash
ACLU NEW YORK: Investigative files released today by the American Civil Liberties Union suggest that the Army failed to aggressively investigate allegations of detainee abuse. Some of the investigations concern serious allegations of torture including electric shocks, forced sodomy and severe physical beatings.
"Government investigations into allegations of torture and abuse have been woefully inadequate," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Some of the investigations have basically whitewashed the torture and abuse. The documents that the ACLU has obtained tell a damning story of widespread torture reaching well beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib.
The killing [of Sajid Khadim] was reported in a Washington Post article, which stated that U.S. forces barged into Khadim's house in the middle of the night, dragged him away from his family, killed him, and stuffed his body under some mats behind the refrigerator. An Army criminal investigation was initiated on the basis of the article but the investigation does not specifically address the facts alleged in the article. Instead, special agents relied entirely on an Army investigation that appears to predate the Washington Post story. The Army investigation summarily concludes that the killing was justifiable homicide.
One set of documents released today by the ACLU includes multiple accounts of abuse at Al-Azimiyah Palace in Baghdad. In sworn statements, private contractors report having witnessed numerous instances of abuse of male and female detainees, including forced sodomy, electric shocks, cigarette burns and beatings. According to one statement, Al-Azimiyah Palace was the site of at least "about 90 incidents" of abuse. Link
These documents clearly demonstrate a systematic culture of torture, murder and criminality. It is noted that, to date, no senior figures have been held to account. The documents paint a depressing picture. More so considering the lack of coverage in the mainstream media and the lack of will to aggressively establish the truth and hold those responsible to account
"Government investigations into allegations of torture and abuse have been woefully inadequate," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Some of the investigations have basically whitewashed the torture and abuse. The documents that the ACLU has obtained tell a damning story of widespread torture reaching well beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib.
The killing [of Sajid Khadim] was reported in a Washington Post article, which stated that U.S. forces barged into Khadim's house in the middle of the night, dragged him away from his family, killed him, and stuffed his body under some mats behind the refrigerator. An Army criminal investigation was initiated on the basis of the article but the investigation does not specifically address the facts alleged in the article. Instead, special agents relied entirely on an Army investigation that appears to predate the Washington Post story. The Army investigation summarily concludes that the killing was justifiable homicide.
One set of documents released today by the ACLU includes multiple accounts of abuse at Al-Azimiyah Palace in Baghdad. In sworn statements, private contractors report having witnessed numerous instances of abuse of male and female detainees, including forced sodomy, electric shocks, cigarette burns and beatings. According to one statement, Al-Azimiyah Palace was the site of at least "about 90 incidents" of abuse. Link
These documents clearly demonstrate a systematic culture of torture, murder and criminality. It is noted that, to date, no senior figures have been held to account. The documents paint a depressing picture. More so considering the lack of coverage in the mainstream media and the lack of will to aggressively establish the truth and hold those responsible to account
posted by exoplanet at 8:25 PM
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