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Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 10:41:02 AM EST
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The AP reports on witness testimony at day two of Charles Graner's Abu Ghraib abuse trial.

A Syrian inmate at Abu Ghraib said Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. was the Baghdad prison's primary torturer who laughed while physically abusing him and threatened to kill him more than once.

Amin al-Sheikh, testifying via videotaped deposition shown in court Tuesday, said Graner also made him eat pork and drink alcohol, in violation of his Muslim faith, and that he listened through his cell wall while Graner and other Americans forced a Yemeni prisoner eat from a toilet.

....Asked if Graner appeared to enjoy hurting him, al-Sheikh said through an interpreter: "He was laughing. ... He laughed. He was whistling. He was singing."

I wonder if Graner still thinks things are going well for him. Here's more from the article:

While being kept at a tent camp next to Abu Ghraib, al-Sheikh said, he was wounded in the leg and chest in a shootout with Americans after he obtained a handgun from an Iraqi guard because he feared for his life. He said Graner, whom he described as the "primary torturer," jumped on his injured leg and struck it with a collapsible stick. That is the basis for one of the assault charges. On another occasion, he said, Graner handcuffed him to his cell door with his arms behind his back for eight hours.

Graner also on different occasions accompanied a U.S. soldier who urinated on him, al-Sheikh said. Another American threatened to rape him, he said.

Our day one roundup is here. Eve of trial report is here. Full coverage since May, 2004 is here.

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    Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two (none / 0) (#1)
    by cp on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 01:52:25 PM EST
    how would he possibly know? this is not exactly the brightest bulb in that particular box we're talking about here.

    Re: Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 02:34:55 PM EST
    Grainer is a pussy who, due to lack of appropriate training and supervision, has become a war criminal. I am extremely curious to know whether, in his tiny, tiny brain he thought what he was doing was permissible and/or sanctioned by his superiors. Granted, my only source is "A Few Good Men" but it is very hard for me to imagine dozens of rogue enlisteds independently committing virtually identical crimes. If this is the case, sure - get Grainer off the streets - but his superiors are responsible for the conduct of our military in wartime. I hold them much more liable.

    Re: Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two (none / 0) (#6)
    by desertswine on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 10:33:31 AM EST
    Yeah, Graner is a hero alright; to all the buttf***ers of America.

    Re: Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two (none / 0) (#7)
    by Bob on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 03:42:37 PM EST
    Grainer was a power mad out of control individual who thought that because of the chaos of the moment her could do what he wanted in any manner regardless of the rules. He deserves what he get whatever it might be.

    Re: Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 14, 2005 at 08:33:42 PM EST
    The Army knows that soldiers will abuse prisoners, and so the soldiers were given all the time and opportunities to do so. Look at the prison experiments that Zimbardo did at Stanford to see how human nature turns nasty in a prison environment. The only "pussies" here are those of you who show no compassion toward Graner, since you can't face up to the fact that you might behave the same way in a stressful environment like he was put in. What would you do if working around people who might like to cut your throat -- bake them cupcakes? The prison was probably as horrible for Graner as it was for the iraqis, as the war must be horrible for everyone involved. Shame on the people casting stones via modem from Jerksville, USA, as if you are qualified to condemn people for how they act in a WAR ZONE.

    Mid-day Charles Graner Trial Update: Day Two | 5 comments (5 topical)