More Prisoner Abuse in Iraq Alleged
By John Hendren and Esther Schrader, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — Pentagon documents released today disclosed a series of alleged abuses of Iraqi detainees at a little-known converted palace used as a prison north of Baghdad, including the sodomy of a handicapped man and the death of his brother, whose body was tossed atop his imprisoned sister.
Up to 90 alleged cases of mistreatment of detainees at the Ademeyah palace were among dozens of incidents described in hundreds of pages of Pentagon documents obtained in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. The documents released today also include investigative reports that indicate possible involvement in abuses by secret Pentagon counterterrorism units.
The latest series of allegations add to a growing pattern that human rights activists said suggested systematic abuse at U.S. military detention facilities across the globe.
Having released thousands of pages of documents, ACLU officials accused the Pentagon of a "woefully inadequate" response to hundreds of incidents of alleged abuse.
"Some of the investigations have basically whitewashed the torture and abuse," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said. "The documents that the ACLU has obtained tell a damning story of widespread torture reaching well beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib."
Abu Ghraib is the prison outside Baghdad that has been at the center of the scandal involving abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military guards.
U.S. military officials continued to describe the abuse as the work of a small number of low-level troops who were not directed by senior leaders. The officials noted that more than 300 criminal investigations have examined allegations of prisoner mistreatment and subjected 100 soldiers to court-martial proceedings and administrative punishments.
"The Army and Department of Defense have aggressively investigated all credible allegations of detainee abuse and held individuals accountable," said Lt. Col. Gerard Healy, an Army spokesman.
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