Iraq rights group on Haditha denies rebel links

Reuters ^ | Jun 23, 2006 | Michael Georgy

[Anti-Bubba182]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of an Iraqi group that has accused U.S. Marines of killing civilians in Haditha dismissed suggestions on Friday that his human rights organization lacks credibility and has links to insurgents.

"We are a small group working under difficult conditions to show what is happening in Iraq," said Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani of Hammurabi Human Rights and Democracy Monitoring.

"None of us have any ties to insurgents."

Lawyers for Marines will question the authenticity of a videotape at the heart of the case and the credibility of Hammurabi, which provided it, sources close to the Marines say.

The videotape, given to Time Magazine in January by Hammurabi, shows a number of corpses and purports to show the aftermath of a massacre. It prompted military probes into the November 19 incident in which as many as 24 people died.

Mashhadani said it was some weeks before he handed the tape to Time after failing to interest Iraqi newspapers and Arab television stations in the story. Journalists at satellite channels Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera said they never saw the tape.

Time, in its first report in March which brought the case to public attention, said the tape was made by a journalism student the day after the incident and said Hammurabi was working with Human Rights Watch. It later issued a correction saying the New York-based group had no ties with Hammurabi.

The Marine sources also said defense lawyers would say the man described by Time as the journalism student, 43-year-old Thaer Thabit al-Hadithi, was a founder of Hammurabi and one of only two employees. Mashhadani said Hadithi was taking courses in journalism and was not one of the group's two founders.

Hadithi, based in his native Haditha in Anbar province, was one of six board members, Mashhadani said, adding that the group had 10 other administrative staff in 14 local offices.

VOLUNTEERS

Countering a remark by a lawyer for one of the Marines that Hammurabi lacked credibility and only had two employees, he added: "We have volunteers across Iraq."..............."

[mickie]

Thanks,
Fifteen years ago my husband said not many Officers have them.

[jazusamo]

That is correct and the recipients wear it with honor. My son was also awarded the CIB for his participation in the first Gulf War.

I thank your husband for his service to our country.

[PghBaldy]

You're right. It makes no sense. It would be HUGE news around the world, and great for ratings. That cannot be true, unless they knew it was a fake? Or knew him to be a crank.