U.S. Soldiers Told to 'Beat the F**k Out of' Detainees
The Army report concluded that the broken jaw was caused either as a result of a blow by a U.S. 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 ha(d) his hands flex-cuffed behind his back.”
He was also hooded, with ”a sandbag placed over (his) head.” The file states that ”(t)he 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 'pay-back' 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, Iraq, obtained through a 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, Iraq.
- posted by geoff @ #