Coalition Troops Are Accused of Torture

Yahoo News (AP) ^ | Fri May 16, 9:03 AM ET | ED JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

[AgThorn]

Coalition Troops Are Accused of Torture

Fri May 16, 9:03 AM ET

By ED JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Amnesty International is investigating claims that British and American troops tortured prisoners of war in Iraq (news - web sites) with night-long beatings and, in at least one case, electric shocks, the group said Friday.

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The human rights organization gathered statements from 20 former detainees who said they had been kicked and beaten by soldiers while being interrogated, Amnesty researcher Said Boumedouha told a news conference in London.

One Saudi Arabian national claimed he was tortured with electric shocks, Boumedouha said.

When asked if his use of the word "torture" accurately described the alleged treatment, Boumedouha responded: "If you keep beating somebody for the whole night and somebody is bleeding and you are breaking teeth, it is more than beating. I think that is torture."

Britain's Ministry of Defense said it had not been contacted by Amnesty about the allegations and insisted prisoners taken by British forces were not mistreated.

"Those who were detained by British forces were treated in line with the Geneva Conventions and we had regular visits by the International Committee for the Red Cross," it said in a statement.

"If there are allegations then we will have to look at them and see if we can investigate."

There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon (news - web sites).

Boumedouha, who returned to Britain on Thursday after a month in Iraq, said the detainees had been arrested in the Basra area.

Some of the men said they were blindfolded or hooded and were kicked and beaten throughout the night, sometimes with weapons, according to Boumedouha. Coalition soldiers had interrogated them with the help of Kuwaiti interpreters, he said.

The Saudi who said he was given electric shocks told Amnesty he had entered Iraq from Syria to volunteer for the Iraqi Red Cross Society, according to the Boumedouha.

Some of those who claimed to have been tortured were civilians detained on suspicion of being Iraqi militia, he said. Some were arrested while combat continued but others were detained later, Boumedouha said.

They were held for up to four days before being moved to a detention center in Umm Qasr. All were subsequently released.

Boumedouha said the group planned to present its findings to British and U.S. authorities.

"We still have people on the ground in Iraq and we will continue to gain testimonies," Boumedouha said. "Once that is complete we hope to provide a full dossier to present to the British and American authorities as well as publishing ourselves."

The news conference, which also addressed issues of looting, the protection of mass graves and the responsibility of coalition troops to restore order in Iraq, was also attended by Amnesty's senior director for international law Claudio Cordone and media officer Judit Arenas.

[AgThorn]

Great! Here comes Amnesty International after somehow missing 30+ years of torture, rape, mutilations, murder, and more by the Iraqi regime, they are right out there in front with some rediculous claims. This group is the worse.

[onedoug]

Abortion Party talking points.

[Lazamataz]

My only problem with this situation is, they only used electrical shock ONCE.

I NEED TO SEE A LOT MORE USE OF ELECTRICITY IN TORTURE TECHNIQUES, ALLIES!!!!!

[ElectricStrawberry]

The human rights organization gathered statements from 20 former detainees who said they had been kicked and beaten by soldiers while being interrogated

Forgot to mention they were Iraqi soldiers.

What a load o' crap--the imbedded reporters missed this one.

[Dog Gone]

The Saudi who said he was given electric shocks told Amnesty he had entered Iraq from Syria to volunteer for the Iraqi Red Cross Society, according to the Boumedouha.

That's equally unbelievable.

[SunStar]

Amnesty International is investigating claims that British and American troops tortured prisoners of war in Iraq (news - web sites) with night-long beatings and, in at least one case, electric shocks, the group said Friday.

Wow. They must be mistaking us for the former regime.

[My2Cents]

Torture: Forcing prisoners to watch Michael Moore's "documentaries."

[cake_crumb]

Interesting the Amnesty International is sudden;y interested now that our troops are conveniently accused of doing the same things Saddam's thugs did to prisoners.

BS propganda campaign.

[D. Brian Carter]

Especially since it's called the "Red Crescent" in that part of the world...

[Political Junkie Too]

Ahh... the old trick of accusing your opponents of what you, in fact, are doing.

-PJ

[m1-lightning]

Wow. They must be mistaking us for the former regime.

No, some poeple actually believe this Baghdad Bob crap.

[m1-lightning]

Ahh... the old trick of accusing your opponents of what you, in fact, are doing.

You mean, like, Tom Daschle accusing the President of politicizing the war?

[Mo1]

Amnesty International is a complete joke!

[Political Junkie Too]

Yes, and also of being shrill, of obstructing, of wasting money, of being outside the mainstream...

-PJ

[areafiftyone]

Already posted HERE

[ElectricStrawberry]

Nice tie.

[gcruse]

This is Yahoo news, alright. In the pre-internet sense, that is.

[lilylangtree]

"British and American troops tortured prisoners of war in Iraq (news - web sites) with night-long beatings and, in at least one case, electric shocks"

Hahaha! This is rich. Why would the coalition forces do this? Sounds like disguntled islamics want to make trouble with false allegations. Could be Iran or Syria wanting to stir up the pot.

[Ugly Truth]

First, the locals biatch that they don't have any electricity, then they say we used electricity to torture? What a crock. This is the same crap that US troops supposedly stripped Iraqi looters, carved "looter" in arabic on their chests, and forced them to walk through a park. There aren't many american troops that can write arabic that I'm aware of. After 20 years active, I have yet to meet one. Just one.

Just another thing to attempt to place us in a bad light. However large the whopper of the lie must be. He'd do best to look after his own nations actions.

[F16Fighter]

"Here comes Amnesty International after somehow missing 30+ years of torture, rape, mutilations, murder, and more by the Iraqi regime, they are right out there in front with some rediculous claims. This group is the worse."

Amnesty International is a fraud, it's claims bogus, and it's hypocracy appalling.

The entire organization should be tarred and feathered then tossed down from the top flight of stairs at the Empire State Building...

Come to think of it, the same remediation can be suggested for Kofi Annon, and the reptiles at the UN.