[excerpts from Wikipedia]
Abu Ghraib torture and
prisoner abuse
Taguba's report, April
2004
Spc. Graner preparing to
punch restrained prisoners
In January 2004, Sergeant
Joseph Darby, a U.S. Army MP, discovered digital images of apparent detainee
abuse on a CD-ROM. He reported the pictures to his superiors, prompting
coalition commander Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez to order United States Army
Major General Antonio Taguba, to investigate. Two further investigations were
also launched.
Taguba's 53-page report,
classified "Secret" and dated April 4, 2004, concluded that U.S.
soldiers had committed "egregious acts and grave breaches of international
law" at Abu Ghraib.[4] Taguba found that between October and December 2003
there were numerous instances of "sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal
abuses" of prisoners. In violation of Army regulations, intelligence
officers asked military police to "loosen up" inmates before
questioning. The report estimates that 60% of the prisoners at the site were
"not a threat to society" and that the screening process was so
inadequate that innocent civilians were often detained indefinitely. Guards
invented their own rules and supervisors approved of their actions. Personnel
lost track of prisoners, did not count their prisoners, and kept no records
regarding dozens of escapes. The facility held too many inmates and supplied
too few guards. Training of those on guard was insufficient, and superiors
neglected to visit the facilities in person. Top military personnel disagreed
on whether military police or military intelligence should be in charge.
Prisoner treatment varied between shifts and between compounds.
Taguba cited numerous
organizational and leadership failures at Abu Ghraib. Reservists tasked with
guarding the prison population were inadequately trained, and Taguba faulted
senior commanders for failing to address these deficiencies. Specifically,
intelligence officers and members of one company, the 372nd Military Police
Company, based in Cresaptown, Maryland, in charge of security, took part in the
documented abuses.
Taguba's report cited
numerous examples of inmate abuse, including:
* Punching,
slapping, and kicking detainees; jumping on their naked feet.
* Videotaping
and photographing naked male and female detainees.
* Forcibly
arranging detainees in various sexually explicit positions for photographing.
* Forcing
detainees to remove their clothing and keeping them naked for several days at a
time.
* Forcing
naked male detainees to wear women's underwear.
* Forcing
groups of male detainees to masturbate while being photographed and videotaped.
* Arranging
naked male detainees in a pile and then jumping on them.
* Positioning
a naked detainee on a MRE Box, with a sandbag on his head, and attaching wires
to his fingers, toes, and penis to simulate electric torture.
* Writing
"I am a Rapest" [sic] on the leg of a detainee alleged to have raped
a 15-year old fellow detainee, and then photographing him naked.
* Placing
a dog chain or strap around a naked detainee's neck and having a female soldier
pose for a picture.
* A
male MP guard raping a female detainee.
* Taking
photographs of dead Iraqi detainees and MPs posing with cheerful looks.
* Breaking
chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees.
* Threatening
detainees with a loaded 9mm pistol.
* Pouring
cold water on naked detainees.
* Beating
detainees with a broom handle and a chair.
* Threatening
male detainees with rape.
* Allowing
a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after
being slammed against the wall in his cell.
* Sodomizing
a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick.
* Using
military working dogs (without muzzles) to frighten and intimidate detainees
with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting and severely
injuring a detainee.
Individuals criticized by
Taguba
By the time Taguba's report
was completed, 17 soldiers and officers, including Brigadier General Janis
Karpinski, were removed from duty. Six soldiers face courts martial and possible
prison time as a result of their roles in the events. The charges against them
included dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault and battery.
Taguba said,
"'Specifically I suspect that Col. Thomas M. Pappas, Lt. Col. Steve L.
Jordan, Mr. Steven Stephanowicz and Mr. John Israel were either directly or
indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib and strongly recommend
immediate disciplinary actions ..." [5]
However, the online diary of
another CACI interrogator at Abu Ghraib, Joe Ryan, reveals that a "Steve
Stevanowicz" was still working at the prison on April 26, 2004, suggesting
that Taguba's conclusions were ignored until the prison abuse scandal broke in
the media.
FULL ARTICLE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse