KUALA LUMPUR: A former Iraqi detainee, testified before a War Crimes Tribunal that he was beaten and tortured in Baghdad during questioning by American troops, who had demanded names of “terrorists” in his neighbourhood during the invasion to oust strongman Saddam Hussein in August 2005, during lengthy interrogation sessions (see: US Troops torture me, ex Iraqi detainee http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fil
This is consistant with other reports of torture and abuse of detainees by US soldiers serving in Iraq (see shocking video of US solders taunting and making fun of prisoners: "Iraq: American Soldiers Mocking and Humiliating Iraqi Prisoners" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N5N8F310
See also: "a A Torturer’s Tale – Iraq" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3l170cMR
Abbas Abid, who is the War Crimes tribunal’s first witness, said he was brought to the Al-Muthanna Brigade headquarters, where he was, among other things "beaten", electrocuted and threatened with execution at the hand of US troops.
The 48-year-old former chief engineer of Iraq’s Science and Technology Ministry, who gave his testimonial with his face covered with a scarf, to help conceal his identity said he and seven other detainees were then transferred to Al Jadiria secret prison, which was formerly an underground shelter.
Here they were the subject of all kinds of horrendous abuse and torure.
According to Abid: “There, the soldiers hanged me from the wall while they put weights on my penis for long hours.They extracted my fingernails, forced me to drink a lot of water mixed with diuretic solution and my penis was then tied with rubber band to prevent me from urinating,” he said at a public hearing held in an open court at the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) .
When asked by Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar, who led the prosecution, Abbas said he could no longer have children following the torture.
“When we first got married, my wife and I had planned to have 15 children, but now our dream has been shattered,” he said, adding that his wife lost two children while he was detained, according to the Star news article.
The tribunal began hearing the second charge of Crime of Torture and War Crimes against former US president "George W. Bush", (and his associates, among them) former US vice-president "Dick Cheney" and former secretary of defence "Donald Rumsfeld."
Far from this being an isolated incident – allegations of torture and abuse are now surfacing in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well (see: Guantanamo Bay interrogation video released – 15 July 08 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc6Mblqzk
The US stands accused of also abusing Afghan civilians (see: US Soldiers Abuse Afghan Civilians http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-TUNwFU
See also shocking horrible video footage of US troops torturing prisoners in Iraq "Moderne Folter der CIA (1/5)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWxv677H6w&feature=share
Robert Tilford
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