Lynndie England Tells of Worse Torture
"They never screamed like that when we were humiliating. But this guy was
like screaming bloody murder. I mean it still haunts me I can still hear it
just like it happened yesterday."
(AFP) A US soldier convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners said, in remarks
recently made public, she knew of "worse things" happening at Abu Ghraib and
insisted military commanders were fully aware of what was going on in Iraq's
infamous jail.
The comments, made by Private First Class Lynndie England in her first
post-court-martial interview, contradicted assertions by top Pentagon
officials that a small group of out-of-control soldiers were responsible for
abuse at Abu Ghraib, and that no matter how repulsive that mistreatment was,
it did not amount to torture.
England, who became the face of the scandal because of a photograph of her
holding a naked prisoner by a leash, was sentenced last Tuesday to three
years in prison and ordered to be dishonorably discharged from the Army
after a military jury found her guilty of maltreating prisoners and
committing an indecent act.
The trial capped a damaging scandal that erupted in 2004, following
publication of pictures that showed Abu Ghraib inmates piled up naked on the
floor in front of US soldiers, cowering in front of snarling military dogs,
chained to beds in stress positions and forced to stand naked in front of
female guards.
But England, appearing on NBC's "Dateline" program, said the pictures did
not convey the full extent of the abuse that took place in the cell block.
"I know worse things were happening over there," admitted the 22-year-old
convict.
She said one night she heard blood-curdling screams coming from the block's
shower room, where non-military interrogators had taken an Arab detainee.
"They had the shower on to muffle it, but it wasn't helping," she recalled. "They never screamed like that when we were humiliating. But this guy was like screaming bloody murder. I mean it still haunts me I can still hear it just like it happened yesterday."
The interrogators were not identified, but several investigations into the
abuse have disclosed that Central Intelligence Agency operatives worked at
Abu Ghraib alongside US military intelligence, mining for useful
information.
-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!
Permanent link for this article which can be used on any website:
like screaming bloody murder. I mean it still haunts me I can still hear it
just like it happened yesterday."
(AFP) A US soldier convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners said, in remarks
recently made public, she knew of "worse things" happening at Abu Ghraib and
insisted military commanders were fully aware of what was going on in Iraq's
infamous jail.
The comments, made by Private First Class Lynndie England in her first
post-court-martial interview, contradicted assertions by top Pentagon
officials that a small group of out-of-control soldiers were responsible for
abuse at Abu Ghraib, and that no matter how repulsive that mistreatment was,
it did not amount to torture.
England, who became the face of the scandal because of a photograph of her
holding a naked prisoner by a leash, was sentenced last Tuesday to three
years in prison and ordered to be dishonorably discharged from the Army
after a military jury found her guilty of maltreating prisoners and
committing an indecent act.
The trial capped a damaging scandal that erupted in 2004, following
publication of pictures that showed Abu Ghraib inmates piled up naked on the
floor in front of US soldiers, cowering in front of snarling military dogs,
chained to beds in stress positions and forced to stand naked in front of
female guards.
But England, appearing on NBC's "Dateline" program, said the pictures did
not convey the full extent of the abuse that took place in the cell block.
"I know worse things were happening over there," admitted the 22-year-old
convict.
She said one night she heard blood-curdling screams coming from the block's
shower room, where non-military interrogators had taken an Arab detainee.
"They had the shower on to muffle it, but it wasn't helping," she recalled. "They never screamed like that when we were humiliating. But this guy was like screaming bloody murder. I mean it still haunts me I can still hear it just like it happened yesterday."
The interrogators were not identified, but several investigations into the
abuse have disclosed that Central Intelligence Agency operatives worked at
Abu Ghraib alongside US military intelligence, mining for useful
information.
-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!
Permanent link for this article which can be used on any website:
posted by Aaron Turpen @ 6:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home