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officials,' [i.e. the CIA] and statements suggest that he was beaten during that interrogation."78

Karim 'Abd al-Jalil

A former lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi army, Karcem ‘Abd al-Jalil died on January 9, 2004, at Forward Operating Base Rifles near al-Asad where he was being interrogated by Special Forces since January 4. The original death certificate stated that he died of "natural causes... during his sleep." But pictures taken by ‘Abd al-Jalil's cousin of his body before burial seem to depict severe bruises on his abdomen as well as marks and cuts on his arms and legs, especially around the wrists. Spiegel TV, a German news organization, interviewed another detainee held with ‘Abd al-Jalil who stated that during interrogation, American soldiers "would kick him [Abd al-Jalil] a lot, cuff his hands and place them behind his neck. And they would also cuff his feet, then one of them would hold his feet up while the other pulled down his head. They tossed him on his back and stepped on him. They danced on his belly and poured cold water all over him.”79 A Pentagon memo obtained by the Denver Post and reported by NBC says 'Abd al-Jalil was held in isolation, his hands tied to a pipe that ran along the ceiling. When he was untied, he attacked his interrogators and later tried to escape. When recaptured, his hands were tied to the top of his cell door and his mouth gagged. Five minutes later, a guard noticed 'Abd al-Jalil dead, hanging by his shackles. After these revelations, the Pentagon released another certificate calling 'Abd al-Jalil's death a homicide from "blunt force injuries and asphyxia."81 The Pentagon also said those who interrogated him included members of an elite special forces unit, some of the most highly trained personnel in the U.S. military.82

Nagm Sadoon Hatab

Former Baath Party official Nagm Sadoon Hatab was found dead at Camp Whitehorse detention facility near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on June 6, 2003.83 The autopsy

78 Robert Weller, "Soldier investigated in Iraqi general's death: Officer at Fort Carson says there is an 'agenda," Associated Press, May 29, 2004.

70 Chris Hansen, "Profile: death in custody; investigation into death of Iraqi detainee Kareem Abdul Jaleel reveals more prison atrocities, NBC News Transcripts, May 23, 2004. Also see: "US troops tortured Iraqi prisoner to death: report," Agence France Presse, May 14, 2004.

80 Editorial. "The Homicide Cases," Washington Post, May 28, 2004.

81 Chris Hansen, "Profile: death in custody; investigation into death of Iraqi detainee Kareem Abdul Jaleel reveals more prison atrocities, NBC News Transcripts, May 23, 2004.

Chris Hansen, "Profile: death in custody; investigation into death of Iraqi detainee Kareem Abdul Jaleel reveals more prison atrocities, NBC News Transcripts, May 23, 2004.

23 Tom Squitieri and Dave Moniz, "3rd of detainees who died were assaulted; Shot, strangled, beaten, certificates show," USA Today, June 1, 2004.

record said he died from “strangulation." Military records state that Hatab was asphyxiated when a Marine guard grabbed his throat in an attempt to move him, accidentally breaking a bone that cut off his air supply. Another Marine is charged with kicking Hatab in the chest in the hours before his death - several of his ribs were broken.81 Hatab was also covered with feces and left under the sun for hours. The Marines believed Hatab had taken part in the ambush of Pfc. Jessica Lynch's unit and reportedly were instituting some form of vigilante justice. Fight Marines were initially charged with various offenses related to Hatab's death; six later had the charges dropped or reduced to administrative punishment. The two men to be tried are Maj. Clarke Paulus, who commanded Camp Whitchorse when Hatab died, and Sgt. Gary Pittman, who was a guard there. They will be tried at Camp Pendleton in August and September 2004, respectively 85

Reports of Abuse Ignored

Prior to the publication of the Abu Ghraib photos, the U.S. government had multiple opportunities to take all necessary action to address what officials should have recognized was a serious and widespread problem. In fact, the ICRC report states that it alerted U.S. authorities to abuses orally and in writing throughout 2003. In May 2003, the ICRC sent a memorandum based on over 200 allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners of war during capture and interrogation at collecting points, battle group stations and temporary holding areas. That same month, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vicira de Mello raised concerns about the treatment of detainees with the Coalition Administrator, Ambassador Paul Bremer.86 In carly July 2003, the ICRC presented a paper detailing approximately 50 allegations of ill-treatment in the military intelligence section of Camp Cropper, at Baghdad International Airport.

According to the ICRC these incidents included:

"a combination of petty and deliberate acts of violence aimed at
securing the co-operation of the persons deprived of their liberty with
their interrogators; threats (to intern individuals indefinitely, to arrest

84

"Did abuses go beyond Abu Ghraib?" CBS News, May 29, 2004.

85 Alex Roth and Jeff McDonald, "Iraqi detainee's death hangs over Marine unit," San Diego Union-Tribune. May 30, 2004; and Rick Rogers, "Abuse charges against Marine reservist are dismissed," San Diego Union-Tribune, April 13, 2004.

86 See Report of the Secretary-General to the U.N. Security Council, July 17, 2003, S/2003/715, para. 47.

87

other family members, to transfer individuals to Guantánamo) against
persons deprived of their liberty or against members of their families (in
particular wives and daughters); hooding, tight handcuffing, use of stress
positions (kneeling, squatting, standing with arms raised aver the head)
for three or four hours, taking aim at individuals with rifles, striking
them with rifle butts, slaps, punches, prolonged exposure to the sun, and
isolation in dark cells. ICRC delegates witnessed marks on the bodies of
several persons deprived of their liberty consistent with their
allegations."

In one case, a detainee:

"alleged that he had been hooded and cuffed with flexi cuffs, threatened
to be tortured and killed, urinated on, kicked in the head, lower back and
groin, force-fed a baseball which was tied into the mouth using a scarf
and deprived of sleep for four consecutive days. Interrogators would
allegedly take turns ill-treating him. When he said he would complain to
the ICRC he was allegedly beaten more. An ICRC modical examination
revealed haematoma in the lower back, blood in urine, sensory loss in
the night hand duc to tight handcuffing with flexi-cuffs, and a broken
nb."

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curtail the ICRC's spot inspections, insisting that the ICRC should make
appointments before visiting the cellblock.89

Guantánamo meets Afghanistan at Abu Ghraib

In August 2003, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, through his top intelligence aide, Stephen A. Cambone, sent Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, who oversaw the interrogation efforts at the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to, in the words of Maj. Gen. Taguba, "review current Iraqi Theater ability to rapidly exploit internees for actionable intelligence." Miller was tasked in essence with “Gitmo-izing” interrogation practices in Iraq, although the Bush administration recognizes that the Geneva Conventions are “fully applicable” in Iraq”1 while it has said that they do not cover al-Qaeda detainees Guantánamo.?2

As Taguba highlighted in his report, Miller recommended that "the guard force be actively engaged in setting the conditions for successful exploitation of the internees.” There is little clarity regarding what else Miller recommended. 94

9993

Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt, "Army tried to limit Abu Ghraib access," New York Times, May 20, 2004. The article also quotes Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, whose soldiers guarded the prisoners, as saying that senior officers in Baghdad had treated the ICRC

report in "a light-hearted manner."

90 Taguba later decried Miller's idea of transporting interrogation techniques from Guantánamo to Iraq, noting that there were major differences between the status of the detainees in the two locations.

91 Douglas Jehl and Neil A. Lewis, "US disputed protected status of Iraq inmates," New York Times, May 23, 2004. See also, Alberto R. Gonzales, "The Rule of Law and the Rules of War," New York Times, May

15, 2004 ("Both the United States and Iraq are parties to the Geneva Conventions. The United States recognizes that these treaties are binding in the war for the liberation of Iraq. There has never been any suggestion by our government that the conventions do not apply in that conflict.")

92

Miller testified that "no program" at Guantánamo "has any of those techniques that are prohibited by the Geneva Convention." But Sanchez, said that the procedures Miller brought from Guantánamo to Iraq "have to be modified" because "the Geneva Convention was fully applicable" in Iraq, in contrast to Guantánamo Editorial, "Reveal the Rules," Washington Post, May 23, 2004.

93 Taguba took issue with this proposal and noted that it would be "in conflict with" the recommendations of the Ryder Report, a previous review of Iraqi prisons which stated that the engagement of military police in military interrogations to "actively set the favorable conditions for subsequent interviews runs counter to the smooth operation of a detention facility."

94 According to Thomas Pappas, the U.S. army officer in charge of the prison cells at Abu Ghraib, one of Miller's recommendations was the use of military guard dogs in interrogations. Pappas also stated that the recommendation was approved by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the top U.S. military official in Iraq. Both Miller and Sanchez deny this. R. Jeffrey Smith, "General is Said to Have Urged Used of Dogs," Washington Post, May 26, 2004; Scott Higham, Joe Stephens and Josh White, "Prison Visits by General Reported in Hearing; Alleged Presence of Sanchez Cited by Lawyer," Washington Post, May 23, 2004.

On October 12, Sanchez implemented Miller's proposals, issuing a classified memorandum calling for interrogators at Abu Ghraib to work with military police guards to "manipulate an interee's emotions and weaknesses” and to assume control over the "lighting, heating food, clothing, and shelter” of those they were questioning.95 95 The full contents of the Sanchez memo have not been made public

In addition, between three and five interrogation teams were sent in October from Guantánamo to the American command in Iraq ' “for use in the interrogation effort” at Abu Ghraib.9%

Capt. Carolyn A. Wood, who oversaw interrogations at the Bagram detention center in Afghanistan where two prisoners died, apparently prepared the document titled "Interrogation Rules of Engagement" that was posted at Abu Ghraiby. According to the document, certain interrogation methods could be undertaken, but only if the "CG's" (Sanchez's) approval was sought and obtained in writing. Depending on their actual application, these methods would violate the Geneva Conventions prohibitions against abusive and coercive treatment of detainees. They included:

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Change of scenery down (moving to a more barren cell)

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Environmental manipulation

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The document also cautions that detamees “will NEVER be touched ir a malicious or unwanted manner" and that the Geneva Conventions apply in Iraq.

See R. Jeffrey Smith, "Memo gave ntelligence bigger role increased pressure sought on prisoners" Washington Post, May 21 2004

Douglas Jehl and Andrea Elliott "Cuba base sent is interrogators to radi prison New York Times May 29 2004.

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