The US promised a crackdown after the Abu Ghraib scandal. But the Bureau of Investigative Journalism can reveal that 303 allegations of abuse by coalition forces were reported in the military files after 2004.
The reports date from August 2005 until the end of 2009. They began 16 months after the Abu Ghraib scandal. Forty-two of these involve allegations of serious abuses, including the use of electric shocks, beatings, water torture and mock executions. In nearly half of these, the claims are reported to be backed up by medical examinations carried out by US medical personnel.
USArrests_Zoriah/Flickr
Abu Ghraib scandal
In April 2004, news broke of the torture of Iraqi inmates by the US military in Abu Ghraib. The accounts prompted the then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to apologise. He promised to bring the perpetrators to justice and “make changes as needed to see that it doesn’t happen again”.
Related article: US troops ordered not to investigate Iraqi torture
Fresh allegations
There are no allegations of abuse reported in the files in 2004. But the secret logs reveal that between 2005 and the end of 2009 at least 303 claims of alleged abuse by coalition forces in Iraq were reported to American forces. The majority of the alleged incidents occurred at the point of arrest or during transfer to detention centres rather than in prisons.
Graphic: detainee abuse in Iraq
We will “make changes as needed to see that it [Abu Ghraib] doesn’t happen again”.
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
The first case in the files was reported on August 27 2005. A man claimed he was blindfolded and beaten after being arrested and detained by US Marines at a checkpoint.
In another case, it is alleged that US Marines videotaped the abuse before releasing the prisoner.
November 12 2006
Two marines (Corporal and Lance Corporal) allegedly videotaped themselves … holding a knife to a detainee’s throat and a M9 to the detainees head.
Medical evidence
In 30 of the 42 serious cases in the SIGACTS, the reports say that medical investigations took place. Twenty of these found evidence of injuries consistent with the allegations of abuse. Only five found no evidence.
July 11 2006
The detainee stated that after he was flex-cuffed, one person sat on his chest and another on his legs … the person punched him in the back of the head, picked up his head and slapped him, and put a plastic pipe in his mouth … The persons conducting the questioning also kicked him on the sides of his body … after this the persons put a bag over his head…
The medic concluded that the detainee did have injuries to his back that were consistent with abuse. A statement was taken from the detainee. Pictures were taken to document the abuse.
Fear of death
It is not just physical abuse; in other cases, detainees allege US troops used fear of death as part of their interrogations:
January 22 2007
Marines grabbed [detainee] by the neck, took him to a suspected IED, threw him to the ground, and kicked him hard in the stomach. The detainee further alleged Marines made him start digging up the suspected IED and pointed a rifle at his neck while an unknown Marine counted 1&2&3. As Coalition Forces were alleged to have been involved, further investigation is required.
Our findings from the files are backed up by a report by Human Rights Watch that was published two years after the Abu Ghraib scandal. The organisation suggested that the abuse of Iraqi detainees by US forces was still widespread and was occurring in locations all over Iraq.
Related article: War logs challenge US prison inspections all-clear
Detainee Abuse in Iraq from TBIJ on Vimeo.
Beyond Abu Ghraib
After Abu Ghraib, the US government gave assurances that allegations of detainee abuse by US forces would be thoroughly investigated. It is clear from the logs that allegations were being reported. What is not known, however, is what happened after these reports were made. The Department of Defense has refused to comment on specific cases.
October 23rd, 2010at 2:01 am(#)
[...] rancor and creativity. The U.S.’s troops are still there, of course, and they’re facing charges of abuse themselves. When similar horrors jolt our own communities they serve to do no more than tickle our [...]
October 23rd, 2010at 5:30 am(#)
[...] instances of prisoner abuse, including electric shock, sodomy, threat of death, and excessive bodily and emotional harm are revealed in the [...]
October 23rd, 2010at 8:57 am(#)
[...] Allegations of prisoner abuse by US troops after Abu Ghraib (Iraq War Logs) [...]
October 23rd, 2010at 12:38 pm(#)
shame
October 23rd, 2010at 8:19 pm(#)
Rumsfeld, Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Libby, CIA principals, and all serving Military Officers at the rank of Major and above in Iraq plus Robert Gates.
You will have to face justice as a consequence of your illegal acts. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE. FRAGO will not get you off the hook. As the occupier of Iraq you are obligated to protect the civilian population.
The Geneva Convention is EXPLICIT. Have you heard of it? You have disgraced your country.
Article 4 of the Geneva Convention
Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.
Each State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.
October 23rd, 2010at 9:58 pm(#)
[...] patterns/allegations of troop misconduct, failure to investigate appropriately: IWL, IWL(2), Danger Room, AP via [...]
October 24th, 2010at 2:59 pm(#)
@ William Barnes:
Come on. The Geneva convention is not meant to have actual teeth or consequences. Nor would they apply to the U.S. if it did. The Geneva convention was designed to convince the people of all nations that war is “civilized” so that we will continue to be willing participants and supporters of wars whose ultimate purpose is to protect and/or fill the coffers of the corporations and executives that control the world.
October 28th, 2010at 10:46 am(#)
Shame, Shame Shame.
Next time a US official starts talking about Human rights, you should spit on his face!
January 17th, 2011at 10:17 pm(#)
Pointing a firearm at a captive is not “torture” but it would probably ensure that the captive party would not try to escape. It would be horrifying to see what the iraqs would do to our troops if captured and i am sure it would be REAL TORTURE. Is there any information on how our troops are treated during captivity? im sure its much more than pointing a gun in their face. I do believe it takes some force to get information from captives to ensure the safety and protection of our troops.