By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is ready to prosecute any civilians or former military personnel suspected of criminal conduct in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday.
At a news conference, Ashcroft would not confirm whether the Defense Department or CIA had formally referred any individual cases to federal prosecutors for potential charges. But he said there is ample jurisdiction to move against civilian contractors and others, including laws that forbid torture.
"We will follow evidence and act in accordance with evidence," Ashcroft said. "We will take action where appropriate."
The primary legal framework that would be used is the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, passed by Congress in 2000 to permit prosecution of federal crimes committed by civilians attached to military personnel in foreign countries when those countries do not prosecute or, as in the case of Iraq, where there is no formal judicial system.
Ashcroft said prosecutors would await the results of a Defense Department investigation into alleged abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Under normal practice, federal agencies refer potential criminal cases not involving military personnel to the Justice Department.
The CIA inspector general is investigating three prisoner deaths that may have involved its officers or contract personnel, intelligence officials have said. If any criminal cases involve undercover personnel, Ashcroft said, their identities would be protected if circumstances warrant.
"Considerations would be given to their identities and identification that is consistent with the national interest," Ashcroft said.
Former Iraqi prisoner Haider Sabber, 36, reads an Iraqi newspaper showing a picture of a prisoner stripped naked in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 6, 2004. Abed was one of a group of seven Iraqi prisoners now at the center of storm over the abuse of detainees by U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)