Vendicar Decarian
2004-05-18 04:28:01 UTC
Ex-prisoner on U.S. torture: 'I never saw such a thing under Saddam'
May 16, 2004
BY SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Saleh says his U.S. torturers told him he was one of
the hooded Iraqi prisoners shown in a picture standing in a row as a
grinning female soldier pointed at their genitals. ''This is your picture,''
one of the guards taunted him, displaying the now infamous photo. ''You are
the fattest one here and that must be you.''
Saleh, 29, says he plans to attend Wednesday's court-martial of Army Spc.
Jeremy Sivits -- the first soldier to stand trial in the alleged abuse of
Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
Saleh, who was released March 28 after four months in Abu Ghraib, is the
second Iraqi to come forward and identify himself in one of the photographs
that triggered international outrage.
Saleh, who speaks some English, said he remembered the names of his
tormentors and plans to file lawsuits against them. The Army has already
charged two of them, Cpl. Charles A. Graner and Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick
II.
Besides Graner and Frederick, Saleh recalls others only by partial names or
nicknames: a sergeant named Schneider, another named Pearl, and
''Nicolai'' -- one of the intelligence officers who he says directed the
torture in Cellblock I/A, where he spent all but one month of his time in
Abu Ghraib.
''One of them wore glasses and one urinated on me,'' Saleh said Saturday.
Saleh said he recalls guards taking several photos of prisoners. Even though
he was hooded, he could hear the shutter click.
But it wasn't until Graner showed him the photos that he realized that a
woman guard -- Pfc. Lynndie England -- was posing in front of the naked
prisoners.
Saleh blames his arrest on a misunderstanding and bad luck.
He went to the Iraqi police to report a suspicious vehicle. He was carrying
a large amount of cash, which he planned to use to buy furniture for his
wedding. Once police discovered the cash, they became suspicious of him and
turned him over to the Americans.
The dark-haired, blue-eyed Saleh was no stranger to Abu Ghraib. He was
arrested by the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1999 and sent to Abu Ghraib
because he tried to evade military service.
''I was tortured under Saddam, but the torture was much more preferable to
this because they didn't strip off my clothes and make me naked,'' he said.
Saleh said the torture at the hands of the Americans began seven days after
he arrived at the prison, when Graner put a bag on his head and tied his
hands.
''He pulled me by the back of the neck and started hitting me with an iron
bar,'' he said.
Saleh asked a fellow prisoner, whose hands were also tied, to lift his hood
with his shoulder.
''I quickly told him to put the hood back on,'' Saleh said. ''I became
hysterical. I couldn't believe what I saw. Everyone was naked in the room. I
never saw such a thing under Saddam.''
Saleh said he was kept naked for 18 days.
Other measures included making him sit on the floor of his cell with his
arms and legs stretched out through the bars while deafening music played on
a stereo.
More frightening were the dogs. Guards held them on leashes as they snarled
and charged at the prisoners, though none bit him, he said.
After the inmates were ''softened up'' by torture, the interrogations began.
''One of the interrogators was a guy by the name of Carlos and there were
Mrs. Liz and Staff Sgt. Chris,'' a woman, he said.
They asked him about his ties to al-Qaida or Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian
the Americans blame for car-bombings here and for the decapitation of
Nicholas Berg.
To avoid more torture, Saleh said he told his interrogators that he had ties
to al-Qaida. ''I just wanted to say that so they would execute me, kill
me,'' he said.
Apparently the interrogators realized he was lying about terrorist links,
because they eventually released him.
AP
--
"We must create a <economic> crisis in order to ensure that there is no
alternative to a smaller government." - Bush - Imprimus Magazine 1995.
"We seek to remove resources from the control of the state, thereby starving
it." - International Society for Individual Liberty - NeoCon Libertarian.
"Throughout his term, Bush has implied tax cuts would starve the government,
paying for themselves by causing budget deficits that, in turn, would place
heavy pressure on Congress to lower spending." - Jeff Lemieux - Senior
Economist - Progressive Policy Institute.
"They have an agenda which is to starve the government of revenue. But in
order to get it through, they keep on having to pretend that the tax cuts
are affordable, and so they've been suppressing the likely cost of
everything, including the war on terror." - Paul Krugman - Economist.
May 16, 2004
BY SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Saleh says his U.S. torturers told him he was one of
the hooded Iraqi prisoners shown in a picture standing in a row as a
grinning female soldier pointed at their genitals. ''This is your picture,''
one of the guards taunted him, displaying the now infamous photo. ''You are
the fattest one here and that must be you.''
Saleh, 29, says he plans to attend Wednesday's court-martial of Army Spc.
Jeremy Sivits -- the first soldier to stand trial in the alleged abuse of
Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
Saleh, who was released March 28 after four months in Abu Ghraib, is the
second Iraqi to come forward and identify himself in one of the photographs
that triggered international outrage.
Saleh, who speaks some English, said he remembered the names of his
tormentors and plans to file lawsuits against them. The Army has already
charged two of them, Cpl. Charles A. Graner and Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick
II.
Besides Graner and Frederick, Saleh recalls others only by partial names or
nicknames: a sergeant named Schneider, another named Pearl, and
''Nicolai'' -- one of the intelligence officers who he says directed the
torture in Cellblock I/A, where he spent all but one month of his time in
Abu Ghraib.
''One of them wore glasses and one urinated on me,'' Saleh said Saturday.
Saleh said he recalls guards taking several photos of prisoners. Even though
he was hooded, he could hear the shutter click.
But it wasn't until Graner showed him the photos that he realized that a
woman guard -- Pfc. Lynndie England -- was posing in front of the naked
prisoners.
Saleh blames his arrest on a misunderstanding and bad luck.
He went to the Iraqi police to report a suspicious vehicle. He was carrying
a large amount of cash, which he planned to use to buy furniture for his
wedding. Once police discovered the cash, they became suspicious of him and
turned him over to the Americans.
The dark-haired, blue-eyed Saleh was no stranger to Abu Ghraib. He was
arrested by the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1999 and sent to Abu Ghraib
because he tried to evade military service.
''I was tortured under Saddam, but the torture was much more preferable to
this because they didn't strip off my clothes and make me naked,'' he said.
Saleh said the torture at the hands of the Americans began seven days after
he arrived at the prison, when Graner put a bag on his head and tied his
hands.
''He pulled me by the back of the neck and started hitting me with an iron
bar,'' he said.
Saleh asked a fellow prisoner, whose hands were also tied, to lift his hood
with his shoulder.
''I quickly told him to put the hood back on,'' Saleh said. ''I became
hysterical. I couldn't believe what I saw. Everyone was naked in the room. I
never saw such a thing under Saddam.''
Saleh said he was kept naked for 18 days.
Other measures included making him sit on the floor of his cell with his
arms and legs stretched out through the bars while deafening music played on
a stereo.
More frightening were the dogs. Guards held them on leashes as they snarled
and charged at the prisoners, though none bit him, he said.
After the inmates were ''softened up'' by torture, the interrogations began.
''One of the interrogators was a guy by the name of Carlos and there were
Mrs. Liz and Staff Sgt. Chris,'' a woman, he said.
They asked him about his ties to al-Qaida or Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian
the Americans blame for car-bombings here and for the decapitation of
Nicholas Berg.
To avoid more torture, Saleh said he told his interrogators that he had ties
to al-Qaida. ''I just wanted to say that so they would execute me, kill
me,'' he said.
Apparently the interrogators realized he was lying about terrorist links,
because they eventually released him.
AP
--
"We must create a <economic> crisis in order to ensure that there is no
alternative to a smaller government." - Bush - Imprimus Magazine 1995.
"We seek to remove resources from the control of the state, thereby starving
it." - International Society for Individual Liberty - NeoCon Libertarian.
"Throughout his term, Bush has implied tax cuts would starve the government,
paying for themselves by causing budget deficits that, in turn, would place
heavy pressure on Congress to lower spending." - Jeff Lemieux - Senior
Economist - Progressive Policy Institute.
"They have an agenda which is to starve the government of revenue. But in
order to get it through, they keep on having to pretend that the tax cuts
are affordable, and so they've been suppressing the likely cost of
everything, including the war on terror." - Paul Krugman - Economist.