Documents Show Troops Tortured Prisoners in Mosul
Newly released Army documents show that U.S. troops systemically tortured Iraqi prisoners in Mosul. The documents were obtained by the ACLU pursuant to its Freedom of Information Act request.
An investigation by a U.S. officer after an Iraqi prisoner's jaw was broken at the base in Mosul found that "detainees were being systematically and intentionally mistreated" in late 2003.
The documents show a variety of torture techniques were inflicted on the prisoners:
- "Deafening heavy metal music was played, and guards threw cold water onto hooded prisoners and sounded bullhorns beside their heads."
- "The detainees had sandbags over their heads that were marked with different crimes, leading the guards to believe that the particular detainee committed that particular crime. The report said the bag on [prisoner] Jassim's head was marked 'IED' -- the acronym for Improvised Explosive Device, roadside bombs that have killed and maimed hundreds of soldiers."
- "Soldiers questioned for the investigation revealed a culture of prisoner abuse at the base. One said that troops "always harassed the hell out of detainees." Another said that at times "the detainees would get so scared they would piss themselves."
- "...three Iraqis working for Reuters that they were subjected to beatings, sexual humiliation, sleep deprivation, white noise and exhausting physical exercises at a U.S. base near Falluja in January 2004."
No one has been held accountable for these abuses and the Army has said it will not be taking further action. The ACLU has issued this press release on the abuse.
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