Our local newsgroup imperialist Empress Otku claimed that we liberated
Iraqis from human rights abuses.

Turns out that it is difficult to rule an occupied country without
human rights abuses...

A highlight from a report on American torture chambers:

Aballey was hooded and handcuffed and made to stand or kneel facing a wall
for nearly eight days while he was being interrogated, the report said.
He suffered from sleep deprivation because a bright light was placed next
to his head while distorted music was booming from lounspeakers, according to
the document.
His knees bled, and one his leg swell to the size of a football, while his
father was held in the cell next to him and could hear his son's screams, the
report said.

Full article follows.

i

In article , AFP / Maxim Kniazkov wrote:

WASHINGTON, July 26 (AFP) - Four US soldiers serving in Iraq have been
charged with abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war and are awaiting a decision on
whether they will face a court-martial, a defense official said Saturday.
The charges mark the first time US personnel have been formally accused of
mistreating Iraqi prisoners since the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq
on March 20, the official said.
The names of the soldiers have not been released, but they are reported to
belong to a military police unit that helped guard prisoners at Camp Bucca,
near the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr, last May.
"They have been charged with Article 32, which is basically like a grand
jury in civilian terms, based on an investigation into allegations of
mistreatment of POWs," Lieutenant Commander Nick Balice, a spokesman for the
US Central Command, told AFP.
The charges are based on an incident that occurred at the POW camp on May
12, the nature of which Balice would not disclose.
But other sources indicated the soldiers, two of whom are said to be women,
are alleged to have used unwarranted physical force against the prisoners.
Under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a commander of
the unit where the alleged infraction occurred must have -- together with
military prosecutors -- a hearing to review evidence and recommend a further
course of action, according to defense officials.
"Certainly, there are several things that could happen," Balice explained.
"It could be dismissed. It could be some other form of disciplinary action. Or
it could a court-martial. It all depends on the determination."
He said no date for the hearing has been set.
The announcement of the charges came three days after the human rights
group Amnesty International issued a scathing report, saying it had collected
many allegation torture or ill-treatment by US-led coalition forces in Iraq.
Iraqi inmates held at various US-run detention centers are subjected
prolonged hooding, sleep deprivation, restraint in painful positions --
sometimes combined with exposure to loud music and bright light, according to
the document compiled by Amnesty monitors who have been working in Iraq since
late April.
The monitors pointed, among others, to the case of 39-year-old Khreisan
Khalis Aballey and his 80-year-old father, who were arrested at their home on
April 30.
Aballey was hooded and handcuffed and made to stand or kneel facing a wall
for nearly eight days while he was being interrogated, the report said.
He suffered from sleep deprivation because a bright light was placed next
to his head while distorted music was booming from lounspeakers, according to
the document.
His knees bled, and one his leg swell to the size of a football, while his
father was held in the cell next to him and could hear his son's screams, the
report said.
"Many of the coalition soldiers and military police engaged in law
enforcement do not have basic skills and tools in civilian policing or to be
aware of the law they are supposed to be applying," said Curt Goering, one of
Amnesty's monitors.
mk/aln

US-Iraq-justice