=================
Other Abuse Cases
=================

(Cases other than Abu Ghraib...)

BAGRAM AFB

* Capt. Carolyn A. Wood
"As of [May 27, 2005], the Army has made no move to prefer criminal charges[.]"

* Spc. Brian E. Cammack
3 months, reduction to E1, fine, bad-conduct discharge.

* Spc. Glendale C. Walls II
charged with assault, prisoner maltreatment, and lying to investigators.

* Spc. Joshua Claus
charged with assault, prisoner maltreatment, and lying to investigators.

* Spc. Willie V. Brand.
"[Brand has] been charged with assault and other crimes[.]"

* Lt. Gen. Daniel K. McNeill, commander of allied forces in Afghanistan.

* Spc. Anthony M. Morden

* Spc. Robert S. Melone

* Sgt. James P. Boland

* Spc. Corey E. Jones

* Sgt. Selena Salcido


OTHER CASES

* David Passaro (CIA contractor)
Under indictment by DOJ.

* [At] least 16 U.S. military personnel have been charged with murder as a
result of field operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The following
list does not include soldiers charged in connection with the deaths of
prisoners.

* 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano (USMC)
On trial for murder at Camp LeJeune.

* A Marine spokesman said Tuesday that one other Marine was charged with murder
during Operation Iraqi Freedom, but the charge was dismissed after an Article 32
hearing.

* Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Pamela Hart said Tuesday that 15 Army soldiers have
been charged with murder during the Iraq conflict. Of those, she said, eight
have gone to trial.

Some of the Army cases include:

* Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne pleaded guilty in December to killing a severely
wounded 16-year-old Iraqi male during fighting in Baghdad's impoverished Sadr
City neighborhood.

* Staff Sgt. Cardenas J. Alban was convicted in January in the same killing.

* Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet was convicted in March of assault with intent
to commit voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi.

* Pvt. Federico Daniel Merida of the North Carolina National Guard pleaded
guilty in September to killing a 17-year-old Iraqi soldier after the two had
consensual sex in a guard tower.

* Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins was acquitted in January of involuntary
manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi civilian, but was convicted of
assault for forcing the man and his cousin into the Tigris River for violating
curfew.

* 1st Lt. Jack Saville pleaded guilty in March to assault and other crimes in
the same incident.

* Staff Sgt. Shane Werst has a pending court-martial on charges that he murdered
an Iraqi civilian during a search for suspected insurgents.

* Cpl. Dustin Berg of the Indiana National Guard faces a court-martial on a
charge that he murdered an Iraqi police officer.

* Spc. Brent May
[Charged with] premeditated murder and lesser counts in a killing in Sadr City,
Baghdad. A court-martial is pending.

* Sgt. Michael P. Williams
[Charged with] premeditated murder and lesser counts in a killing in Sadr City,
Baghdad. A court-martial is pending.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raleigh-Durham News & Observer --

Apr 27, 2005
TESTIMONY BY SOLDIERS BEGINS IN DEATHS OF TWO IRAQIS
By Jay Price

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2350625p-8728466c.html

CAMP LEJEUNE -- Minutes after shooting two Iraqis, 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano
bragged about leaving a sign over their bodies bearing the Marine slogan "No
Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," according to a witness in a hearing to determine
whether Pantano is court-martialed on charges of premeditated murder.
The sign was "like a death card," said Lt. Samuel Cunningham, a platoon leader
whose unit was guarding a bridge about 1,000 yards from the killing site that
day, April 15, 2004. "I told him it was inappropriate, and he should go back and
get it."

Pantano, 33, a former film executive from New York, has been charged with two
counts of premeditated murder in the deaths of the men, whom his unit stopped
during a cordon-and-search operation in Mahmudiyah. According to written
charges, Pantano ordered another Marine and a sailor to remove the handcuffs
from Tahab Ahmead Hanjil and Hamaady Kareem, then told other servicemen to look
away and shot the two Iraqis in the back with an M-16 assault rifle.

Cunningham testified Tuesday that he heard 45 to 50 shots. They came so quickly
and smoothly, Cunningham said, he thought someone was firing a machine gun.
About 30 minutes later, Pantano walked up and told him about the dead Iraqis and
the sign.

Pantano left the bodies on display as a message to locals and vandalized
Hanjil's vehicle by slashing the tires and smashing the headlights, taillights
and a rear window, according to the charge sheet.

If convicted, Pantano could face the death penalty.

His attorneys, who do not dispute that Pantano shot the Iraqis, have said that
he had their cuffs removed so that the men could search their own vehicle, in
order to protect Marines from booby traps. Pantano fired in self-defense when
the two men moved toward him, his lawyers say.

The Pantano case is one of several prosecutions in North Carolina related to the
war that have garnered national attention.

As his case proceeds, an Army jury at Fort Bragg is deciding whether Sgt. Hasan
Akbar will die for killing two officers and wounding 14 other military personnel
in a sneak attack on comrades in Kuwait. David Passaro, a former CIA contractor
from Lillington, faces trial in Raleigh's federal court on charges that he beat
an Afghan detainee who later died. And, before her case was moved to Texas, Pfc.
Lynndie England faced criminal proceedings at Fort Bragg in the wake of the Abu
Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

But the idea of a Marine's facing execution for killing suspected insurgents in
a war zone has created an outcry. U.S. Rep. Walter Jones Jr., a Farmville
Republican, has tried to get the House of Representatives and President Bush to
intervene.

Pantano's mother is operating a Web site to build support for him and raise
money. The Washington Times and the Fox network's national news have written and
broadcast stories about Pantano, but neither appeared to cover the evidentiary
hearing, which continues today.

At the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, a
Marine translator said that before the killings, the two suspects were
interrogated separately, and both gave the same story: that they were visiting
family at the house where they were detained. Other Iraqis inside, he said, told
him the men were indeed relatives.

Identified only as "Cpl. O," because of his counterintelligence work, the Marine
said a search of the house turned up little more than an AK-47, which Iraqi
families commonly keep for self-defense. He said he didn't know of any weapons
or bomb-making material found in the vehicle. He also said that the men appeared
to have been shot in the back.

Charles Gittens, Pantano's lead civilian attorney, said after the hearing that
Cpl. O hadn't been involved in the search of the vehicle and that he was
mistaken, that more weapons were found.

Asked why Pantano had to fire so many times -- he would have had to change
magazines because they hold only 30 rounds each -- Gittens said he didn't want
to second-guess someone whose life was in danger.

"You want to make sure the guy who's trying to kill you is the one who dies," he
said.

On Tuesday, Pantano's defense lawyers were aggressive, objecting 19 times to
issues ranging from the clothes dictated for the hearing (green camouflage
rather than a dress uniform) to testimony that they said was not given under
oath.

In most cases, the investigating officer, Maj. Mark E. Winn, simply said the
objection would be noted.

The defense did win a couple, though, including a ban on prosecutors' use of the
word "victims" to describe the dead Iraqis. Gittens said that if the killings
were justified, the dead men obviously were not victims.

Winn, whose role is similar to that of a judge, also agreed to produce a list of
material the defense said it had been requesting for weeks.

The defense also challenged the fitness of Winn himself after a series of
questions to him about whether he had said during a Saturday conversation at an
Emerald Isle bar that he wanted nothing to do with the case and had called
Gittens an unpleasant name.

Winn said he had a brief conversation about the case but didn't call Gittens a
name or say he didn't want to be involved with the case.

The hearing Tuesday was to gather information to help the commanding general of
the 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, decide whether Pantano should
face a court-martial.

The hearing is expected to last several days. Winn could then take weeks or
longer to sift the evidence and make his recommendation to Huck.

Pantano had waived his right to the hearing, essentially telling the government
to go ahead with the court-martial. It was an unusual move, and even rarer was
the government's response: It decided to hold the hearing anyway.

Pantano has an unorthodox background for a Marine officer.

He was raised in a rough part of New York City but won a scholarship to a fancy
prep school. After high school, he joined the Marines and served in the 1991
Persian Gulf War but later left the service. Eventually he landed a job with
six-figure salary at a production company that produced such films as "Sling
Blade." After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, though, he joined the Marines
again.

[ Staff writer Jay Price can be reached at jprice@newsobserver.com ]

*

Human Rights Watch --

April 2005
GETTING AWAY WITH TORTURE?
COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE U.S. ABUSE OF DETAINEES

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/us0405/


"Prosecuting Some Soldiers, Belatedly" ch. 3, sec. 2:

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/us0405/5.htm#_Toc101408095

"Until the publication of the Abu Ghraib photographs forced action, almost all
military investigations into deaths and mistreatment in custody were
languishing. No one implicated in the abuse of persons in custody in
Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere, including in the killing of detainees, had been
criminally prosecuted. Many personnel appear to have had their cases shelved or
have been given inappropriate administrative reprimands, instead of facing
criminal prosecution.

"In the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib pictures, the United States initiated the
prosecution of a number of soldiers and contactors for alleged crimes committed
in Iraq (particularly Abu Ghraib)75 and Afghanistan. Pentagon officials told
Human Rights Watch in March 2005 that out of 300 investigations initiated into
abuse allegations, only 14 persons have been convicted by court-martial. And
although 33 additional soldiers have been referred to trial by court-martial, 70
have received only "non-judicial punishments," such as reprimands, rank
reductions, or discharge from the military, though many of the alleged abuse
cases involved serious abuses and homicides.76 Earlier, in December 2004, the
Pentagon told journalists that 130 American troops had been punished or charged
for abuse of prisoners, a figure which apparently includes non-judicial
punishments.77

"Homicide investigations have been extremely slow. As of February 2005, Army
criminal investigators were reported to have conducted 68 detainee death
investigations with 79 possible victims.78 Yet only two homicide cases have
resulted in recommended courts martial for homicide; one has been postponed and
in another, most of the implicated personnel were brought before non-judicial
administrative hearings instead of court-martial, and most received only
administrative punishments. Many cases involving detainee deaths in Afghanistan
in 2002, over two-and-a-half years ago, have gone unresolved. In one case from
Afghanistan, it appears that an army captain who "murdered" a detainee was
simply discharged from the military, and his case was closed.79

"Meanwhile, no criminal investigations appear to have been commenced for abuses
committed at Guantanamo Bay, at US-run "secret locations" around the world or in
connection with the rendition of persons to third countries where they were
likely to be tortured. With respect to CIA abuses, Porter J. Goss, who replaced
George Tenet as director of Central Intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence
Committee in February 2005 that "a bunch of other cases" were now under review
by the CIA’s inspector general. No CIA officers have been charged in relation to
alleged mistreatment, with the single exception of a CIA contractor charged in
the death of detainee in Afghanistan in 2003."

*


Pravda --

May 27, 2005
NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BAGRAM
By J. David Galland

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/15548_bagram.html

The U.S. Army staffed, operated, and condoned the sustained daily functions of a
proverbial torture chamber at the Bagram Military Detention Center in
Afghanistan in 2002. Now, 2½ years later, the officers responsible for that
facility have yet to face the consequences for their leadership failures.

The dark history of this interrogation and detention facility is mired in
denial, gross command irresponsibility at all levels, and soldiers gone wild
with rage. Combined, all factors resulted in the injury and in several cases,
the death of detainees.

During the course of interrogations, unlucky detainees were routinely abused by
the assigned Military Intelligence interrogators from the 519th Military
Intelligence Battalion from Fort Bragg, N.C. Augmenting the staff were Military
Police soldiers  from the Army Reserve's 377th MP Company from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Regarded as potential sources of human intelligence information, detainees being
held for interrogation were routinely kicked, beaten, hung by irons from
immovable objects to include detention cell ceilings. Their humiliation was
constant as a matter of policy. This policy was set by Army Capt. Carolyn A.
Wood, an experienced Army interrogator then assigned to the 519th MI Battalion.

Wood posted her own list of "interrogation rules of engagement" (ROE) at Bagram
and later did the same when transferred to Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.
Wood's ROE were in effect until they were discovered to be inconsistent with
interrogation rules published by the CJTF commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo
Sanchez.

Given the ghastly treatment that many detainees received at Abu Ghraib, some
resulting in horrifying deaths, one may not be shocked with the revelations of
abuse at the Bagram facility. Making the situation worse was the likelihood that
a detainee in a field detention center may be completely innocent, and guilty of
nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This did not stop
Army MI personnel, and MPs from exacting punishment on detained, injured, and
shackled suSpcts that was no less than horrific.

Such crimes, we now discover, were not rare.

As reported by The New York Times last week, an Afghani named Habibullah was
captured by an Afghan Warlord on Nov. 28, 2002. Two days later, he was delivered
to the Bagram detention facility by CIA operatives who said that Habibullah was
suSpcted of being a brother of a former Taliban commander from the southern
Afghan province of Oruzgan.

Maj. Bobby R. Atwell, a military police officer now assigned to the 16th MP
Brigade at Fort Bragg, who was then serving as the provost marshal at Bagram,
offered, in an interview with the NY Times, that Habibullah "had a piercing gaze
and was very confident." Perhaps it was this perceived arrogance on the part of
the detainee that led to his ultimate fate.

When delivered to the Bagram facility, Habibullah was described as being in good
health by the doctor who examined him.

However, the senior intelligence operations chief at Bagram, Lt. Col. John W.
Loffert Jr., later told Army investigators, "He was already in bad condition
when he arrived." Since Loffert is not a doctor, the reader must assume one of
two things: Either Habibullah had visible symptoms of poor health, or the
officer lied.

On his second day in the Bagram facility, interrogators declared Habibullah as
being "uncooperative." According to MP Capt. Christopher M. Beiring, this
following a day of being subject to the standard policy of "being hooded,
shackled, and isolated for at least the first 24 hours."

Soldiers who were assigned to the facility readily admitted, in classified
investigative reports later released and published in the news media, that the
guards kept prisoners awake by yelling or poking at them or banging on their
cell doors. This went on while Habibullah was shackled by the wrists to the wire
ceiling over his cell door.

To which the question arises: Would you remain calm and cooperative at this
juncture after a full day of this kind of welcome at a detention facility?

When it came time for a rectal exam, and more heavy-handed treatment meted out
by the guards, it is not surprising that Habibullah became violent. The detainee
struck Sgt. Alan J. Driver Jr. - is a reserve MP from the 377th MP Co. - with a
knee. That act probably sealed Habibullah's fate.

Later that day, Spc. Willie V. Brand, a guard and not an interrogator with the
377th reported Habibullah as "uncooperative" and then saw fit to deliver a
flurry of peroneal strikes in response. This involves kneeing the victim in the
muscle group just above the victim"s knee. The next day, Brand found Habibullah
uncooperative again, and assaulted the detainee a second time with more knee
shots to the legs.

As an MI soldier for more than 30 years, I can attest that nowhere in any Army
Training Manual, Army Regulation, or Field Manual does the U.S. Army prescribe
numerous and repeated peroneal strikes to the legs or a detainee - for any
reason.

It is interesting to note that Brand, a junior enlisted soldier, has been
charged with assault and other crimes perpetrated against detainees. His
civilian lawyer, John P. Galligan, is quick to point out that his client, Brand,
was performing his duties consistently within the standard operating procedures
that were in place at the Bagram facility.

Given the widespread proliferation of catastrophic abuse directed at detainees,
and numerous other corroborative facts, Galligan"s assertion has great
credibility.

The situation at Bagram continued to spiral out of control. By Dec. 3, 2002,
Habibullah"s sustained defiance made him a open target for scores of peroneal
strikes for being, again, "noncompliant."

One M.P., not named in the N.Y. Times, stated that he gave Habibullah five
peroneal strikes and another gave him three or four more, again, for being,
"combative and noncompliant." The piece in the N.Y. Times revealed that some
guards later asserted that he, Habibullah, had been hurt trying to escape.  Some
guards later asserted that he had been hurt trying to escape.

How combative can a man be while shackled to the ceiling and chained to the
floor by his feet and with a bag over his head? These were the conditions of
Habibullah"s detention and restraint on Dec. 3, 2002, according to M.P. Sgt.
James P. Boland.

Later that date, Boland found Habibullah, slumped forward and held up by the
chains attaching him to the ceiling.

Sgt. Boland informed investigators of Habibullah"s condition. Boland returned
and entered the cell with Spcialists Anthony M. Morden and Brian E. Cammack,
both members of the 377th MP Company. Habibullah"s hood was removed and,
according to Cammack, Habibullah then spat on him.

After serving as a municipal police officer during 1972-80, I can attest that
this is not an unusual event when dealing with detainees. I and most other
police officers have been subjected to much worse.

By his own admission, Cammack stated that, he "exploded" and yelled at
Habibullah, "don"t ever spit on me again." Further, Cammack admitted that he
began kneeing the shackled and swaying man in the thigh "maybe a couple" of
times. Twenty minutes later, Habibullah was found dead in his cell by Sgt.
Boland and Spc. Cammack. According to Boland, "Spc. Cammack appeared very
distraught, the soldier was running about the room . hysterically."

Immediately, another MP was dispatched to find a medic. When his assistance was
requested by the MPs, Spc. Robert S. Melone, indignant at being bothered,
reportedly said, "What are you getting me for? Call an ambulance instead!"
Another medic was contacted, he responded, and found Habibullah on the floor,
dead, his arms outstretched, eyes and mouth open wide.

On Dec. 8, 2002, an autopsy performed on Habibullah revealed that his death was
attributed to a blood clot that likely traveled to his heart and blocked the
blood flow to his lungs. This clot was probably the result of the severe
injuries to his legs, according to the autopsy findings. Significantly, the
autopsy discovered bruises and abrasions on the victim"s chest, arms and head.
Also present were deep contusions on his calves, knees and thighs. His left calf
was marked by what appeared to have been the sole of a boot.

The next victim arrived at Bagram on Dec. 5, 2002, only two days after
Habibullah"s death. The Afghani, named Dilawar, had been detained on suspicion
of firing rockets at a U.S. military site in Afghanistan. He was a taxi driver
by profession.

In keeping with Capt. Wood"s rules, both MI and MP escorts would render him a
similar fate to that of Habibullah. Prison guards soon declared him
"noncompliant," and his handling and incarceration were almost identical to that
of the now deceased detainee

Shackled in his cell, just prior to a scheduled interrogation, Dilawar
reportedly spat on MP Spc. Corey E. Jones when the soldier brought him some
water. Jones later asserted that as a result he began a series of knee and
peroneal strikes to the detainee"s leg.

In response to beating, Dilawar reportedly screamed out, "Allah, Allah, Allah."
Other MP soldiers heard Dilawar screaming, and according to Jones" own
admission, "They thought it was funny."

Other MPs in the platoon showed up to give Dilawar repeated and sustained
peroneal strikes over a 24-hour period. This was done just to hear Dilawar
scream, "Allah," said Jones to CID Investigators. In a subsequent statement to
CID, Spcialist Jones was vague about which M.P.'s had delivered the blows. His
estimate was never confirmed, but other guards eventually admitted striking Mr.
Dilawar repeatedly.

On Dec. 8, 2002, the same day as Habibullah"s autopsy, Dilawar was subjected to
his fourth interrogation with 21-year-old Spc. Glendale C. Walls II as the
interrogator. Walls declared the detainee hostile because he would not admit to
allegations that he had launched rockets at the American base.

Dilawar was physically unable to hold his hand-cuffed hands above his head as
instructed, which prompted another interrogator, Sgt. Selena Salcido, to
forcibly slap Dilawar"s hands back up when they fell. Both interrogators then
termed Dilawar evasive because he was unable to sit in a chair due to the
injuries he had sustained at the hands of the guards during the past 24 hours.
Dilawar was then repeatedly shoved against the wall by Walls and Salcido because
he could no longer stand.

According to an interpreter who was present, later identified as Ahmad Ahmadzai,
Dilawar received a beating for about ten to fifteen minutes at the hands of
Walls and Salcido. The thrashing was highlighted by the violent kicking of
Dilawar in the groin, private areas, and one good drop kick, in which Salcido
stepped back and advanced rapidly, kicking Dilawar. In published classified
investigative reports, Salcido also stepped on Dilawar"s bare foot and pulled
him about, physically, by his beard.

Following this sustained attack and beating on Dilawar, which Ahmadzai described
as no interrogation at all, Dilawar was returned to his cell and shackled to the
ceiling until the next interrogation shift came on. Salcido instructed the MP
escorts to shackle Dilawar to the ceiling in his cell.

The next morning, Dec. 9, 2002, Dilawar was subjected to his final interrogation
at which he was unable to kneel when ordered or physically comply with anything.
This caused the interrogation session to erode to more physical abuse. An
interrogator identified as Spc. Joshua Claus took over from Walls, who remained
present. Dilawar"s last interrogation eroded into more abuse and assault and he
was returned to his cell and re-shackled.

Dilawar was found dead the next morning.

Claus and Walls have both since been charged with assault, prisoner
maltreatment, and lying to investigators.

Shortly after Dilawar"s death Lt. Col. Elizabeth Rouse, the corner, who was a
Major at the time, determined that Dilawar suffered injuries so extreme that one
of his legs "had basically been pulpified." Rouse further commented regarding
Dilawar"s fate and demise, "I"ve seen similar injuries in an individual run over
by a bus."

In February 2003, while making an effort deny the criminal actions of soldiers
and leaders alike, Lt. Gen. Daniel K. McNeill, commander of allied forces in
Afghanistan, released a statement that said, in part: "We are not chaining
people to the ceilings .. I will say that our interrogation techniques are
adapted, they are in accordance with what is generally accepted as interrogation
techniques."

As with the infamous guards at Abu Ghraib, one must ask, where was the
supervision by the guards" chain of command? Who was in charge? Where were the
officers and commanders during that month when two detainees were viciously
beaten to death in a gruesome, painful and bizarre manner? Where was any level
of senior noncommissioned officer leadership?  Just who in hell was in
operational charge of these Spcialists and junior NCOs? Who was setting policy
and monitoring those policies?

The answer is that Capt. Carolyn A. Wood, a vastly experienced U.S. Army
intelligence officer. Wood, recall, was the officer in charge of interrogations
and intelligence collection operations at Bagram in December 2002. Wood is
currently assigned to duties as the adjutant of the 304th MI Battalion at Fort
Huachuca, Ariz.

A former enlisted soldier and former staff sergeant in the MI career field, Wood
later became a commissioned officer. At Bagram, she wrote and posted her own
"rules of interrogation" for detainees. In mid-2003, Wood was reassigned to Abu
Ghraib prison with essentially the same duties. While there, she fell under the
ineffective leadership of Lt. Col. Steven P. Jordan, of the 205th MI Brigade,
which was responsible for detainee interrogations at the prison.

Also, according to the N.Y. Times, in a piece written by Douglas Jehl and Eric
Schmitt, which appeared on May 21, 2004, upon arriving at Abu Ghraib, Wood again
posted her "interrogation rules and operational directives." Effectively, she
had imported and applied many of the harsh methods that seemed to work for her
unit at the Afghanistan site.

The aftermath of the detainees" deaths at Bagram is sickeningly similar to that
of the Abu Ghraib scandal: To date, only seven junior enlisted soldiers have
been accused and or/punished for their involvement as part of Wood"s team in
Afghanistan, although according published news reports, over 28 soldiers have
been implicated in the two murders thus far.

Spc. Cammack last week pleaded guilty at a court-martial at Fort Bliss, Tex., to
assault and two counts of making a false statement relating to his assault on
Habibullah. The military judge sentenced Cammack to three months in prison,
reduced him to the rank of private, issued a fine, and gave him a bad-conduct
discharge.

As of this writing, the Army has made no move to prefer criminal charges against
Capt. Wood, who - to no one"s surprise - was unavailable for comment.

The illegal beating of detainees may be over, but the Army"s accountability
scandal continues.

*

Footnotes from Human Rights First, BEHIND THE WIRE (March 2005):

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/behind-the-wire-033005.pdf


<FN> 262 See Human Rights First, GETTING TO GROUND TRUTH (Sept. 2004), available
at (accessed Jan. 19, 2005):

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/detainees/Getting_to_Ground_Truth_090804.pdf

see also Steven Lee Myers and Eric Schmitt, Wide Gaps Seen in U.S. Inquiries on
Prison Abuse, N.Y. TIMES, June 6, 2004, available at (accessed Jan. 21, 2005):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/international/middleeast/06ABUS.html


<FN> 265 Sgt James P. Boland, a military police reservist from the 377th MP
Company, was charged Aug. 23 with Sgt. James P. Boland, a military police
reservist from the 377th MP Company, was charged Aug. 23 with assault and
dereliction of duty for the death of the two Afghan men in Bagram. Reservist
Charged in Afghan Prison Abuse Case, MSNBC, Sept. 1, 2004, available at
(accessed Jan. 21, 2005):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5888743

David Passaro, an ex-CIA contractor has been charged for the death of Abdul
Waili at a detention center in Asadabad in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Curt Anderson, CIA Contractor Charged With Prisoner Abuse, ASSOC. PRESS., June
17, 2004, available at (accessed Jan. 20, 2005):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49344-2004Jun17.html

Elise Ackerman, 2 Reservists Face Punishmentsin Detainee's
Deaths, KNIGHT RIDDER, Mar. 7, 2005, available at  (ac-
cessed Mar. 7, 2005):

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/11074621.htm

*


MSNBC / AP --

November 12, 2004
NEW GUANTANAMO ABUSE CASES SURFACE
Amnesty International calls for independent commission

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Two new cases of detainee abuse have
surfaced at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, including one in which a U.S.
military commander failed to properly investigate a prison guard who threw
cleaning solvent on a terror suSpct.

The guard threw the solvent on the prisoner in January and was demoted and
reassigned in June, a month after Navy InSpctor General Vice Adm. Albert T.
Church visited the remote outpost to investigate claims of abuse. The guard’s
commanding officer also was reprimanded, military officials said.

Another incident involved a guard who hit a detainee in October after the man
allegedly spat on the guard and tried to bite him. The guard was demoted and
reassigned the same month.

"We have a process in place to review all allegation reports. Each report that
alleges mistreatment at Guantanamo is taken seriously," said Army Lt. Col. Leon
Sumpter, a spokesman.

HIGH-RANKING CASE

The commander who mishandled the solvent incident was an Army captain and the
highest known ranking officer to be disciplined in an abuse case at the outpost
in eastern Cuba, Sumpter said. The company commander generally is in charge of
more than 130 soldiers.

After the scandal at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- where American
soldiers were photographed abusing detainees -- military officials at the U.S.
Southern Command in Miami told The Associated Press there were three
substantiated abuse cases at Guantanamo.

The military last week provided details of eight substantiated cases of abuse by
personnel from prison guards to a barber. The information came nearly two months
after the AP asked for details of cases described in an August report by James
R. Schlesinger, who headed a U.S. congressional committee to investigate abuses
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo.

Despite the previous request, the two new cases only surfaced Thursday.

INFORMATION DRIBBLING OUT

"This problem won’t be solved by dribbling out bits of information over a period
of months. The U.S. government needs to stop hiding behind closed doors and
create an independent commission to look into all charges of abuse," said Jumana
Musa of Amnesty International, one of four observers who came to Guantanamo to
observe motions hearings ahead of military commissions, or trials.

Other abuse allegations have been reported by detainees appearing before review
tribunals evaluating their status as enemy combatants. An Afghan man testified
Wednesday the Taliban killed members of his family and imprisoned members
continued attacks in Guantanamo by beating him, spitting on him and throwing
urine on him.

Abuse allegations are a core complaint in a habeas corpus petition filed Monday
by attorneys for Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan, an alleged paymaster
for al-Qaida and accused associate of Osama bin Laden who is one of four people
charged with conspiracy.

He alleges Guantanamo interrogators wrapped prisoners in an Israeli flag, showed
them pornographic photos and forced them to be present while others had sex. Al
Qosi’s lawyers did not say in which cases their client witnessed the abuse, who
had sex in detainees’ presence or how many incidents were reported.

ALLEGATION: 'HELL ROOM'

Al Qosi’s petition in U.S. District Court in Washington is one of several
challenges that could halt his trial, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 8.

Al Qosi’s lawyers said in their petition -- one of more than 60 pending cases --
that interrogations often occurred in an area detainees called the "Hell Room,"
where pornographic pictures were displayed.

They said methods included "taunting detainees in sexually humiliating ways,
including having sex in detainees’ presence or having female interrogators rub
their bodies suggestively against detainees."

Cases in the congressional report included a female interrogator who climbed
onto a detainee’s lap and ran her fingers through his hair, and another detainee
whose knees were bruised from being forced to kneel repeatedly.

The report followed Church’s visit in May, when he said he found conditions to
be professional and humane but acknowledged that his visit was too short to
investigate whether more abuses had occurred.

Church cited eight "minor infractions." Four involved prison guards, three
involved interrogators and one involved a barber, who it was later revealed gave
detainees two reverse Mohawk-style haircuts. The perpetrators were demoted,
reprimanded or sent for more training.

*


CBS News / AP --

November 5, 2004
US DETAILS 8 GITMO ABUSE CASES

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - A detainee was forced to kneel so many
times he was bruised, a barber gave reverse Mohawks and a female interrogator
ran her fingers through a prisoner's hair and sat in his lap, the U.S.
government says in the most detailed accounting of eight abuse cases at its
Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suSpcts.

Those responsible for the abuse have been demoted, reprimanded or sent for more
training, according to an 800-word U.S. military response to a written query
from The Associated Press.

Allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo, where 550 terror suSpcts have been
held for nearly three years, surfaced after the abuse scandal broke last year at
the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where pictures showed beatings and
sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners.

The details of abuse at Guantanamo come as lawyers for several prisoners
challenge evidence presented by the government, saying some could have been
obtained by force.

Only four prisoners have been formally charged at Guantanamo, where most are
held without charge or access to lawyers. The military has reported 34 suicide
attempts among detainees, though none has been reported since January.

Guantanamo's new commander says lessons have been learned from past abuses cases
and troops are treating detainees humanely with a rigorous system of checks and
balances.

"They've not been mistreated, they've not been tortured in any reSpct," Army
Brig. Gen. Jay Hood said in an interview Wednesday.

Human rights monitors are not convinced.

"We're confident that there's more information out there that hasn't been
released," said Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has
obtained nearly 6,000 documents about procedures at U.S.-run prisons. He was in
Guantanamo to observe pretrial hearings.

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, now in charge of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, commanded
the Guantanamo prison from November 2002 to March 2004 with a mandate to get
better intelligence. Most abuses reported in August by James R. Schlesinger, who
headed a U.S. Congressional committee to investigate abuses in Iraq, Afghanistan
and Guantanamo, occurred under Miller's watch.

The Department of Defense, responding to an AP query made nearly two months ago,
this week provided details of the eight Guantanamo abuses cases Schlesinger
cited. No names were given.

In one case, a female interrogator took off her uniform top to expose her T-
shirt to a detainee, ran her fingers through his hair and climbed on his lap in
April 2003. A supervisor monitoring the session terminated it, and the woman was
reprimanded and sent for more training, the military said.

The same month, an interrogator told military police to repeatedly bring a
detainee from a standing to kneeling position, so much that his knees were
bruised, the government said. The interrogator got a written reprimand and
Miller reportedly stopped use of that technique.

Also that month, a guard was charged with dereliction of duty and assault after
a detainee assaulted another guard. After the detainee was subdued, the guard
punched the prisoner with his fist. He was demoted.

In a separate case, a guard was charged with assault after he sprayed a detainee
with a hose when the prisoner allegedly tried to throw water from his toilet at
him in September 2002. The guard was reduced in rank and reassigned.

Another female interrogator wiped dye from a red magic marker on a detainee's
shirt, telling him it was blood, after he allegedly spat on her. She received a
verbal reprimand in early 2003.

In March 2003, a military policeman used pepper spray on a detainee allegedly
preparing to throw unidentified liquid on an officer. The policeman was
acquitted by a court martial.

Incidents this year include a military policeman who squirted a detainee with
water in February, and a camp barber who gave two "unusual haircuts." The
haircuts were reverse Mohawks, according to a government official who spoke on
condition of anonymity.

The barber gave the cuts to frustrate detainee efforts to wear their hair the
same way to demonstrate unity, the government said. The barber and his company
were reprimanded.

Air Force Lt. Col. Sharon Shaffer, defense attorney for a Guantanamo prisoner,
announced Thursday that she would file a petition in federal court challenging
her client's detention and alleging systematic abuse at the prison. She
represents Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi of Sudan, an alleged al Qaeda paymaster
whose conspiracy trial is scheduled for February.

"The abuse allegations at Guantanamo are a matter of growing concern," Shaffer
said. "He was constantly being told he would be sent to Egypt to be
interrogated, where many of the detainees believed they would be killed. And he
was forced to sit for hours in the freezing cold."

At least one military insider at Guantanamo has gone public with allegations of
abuse -- a military police officer who was injured after going undercover as a
detainee.

National Guardsman Sean Baker said the attack occurred in November 2002, the
month after Miller arrived in Guantanamo, when he was told to put on an orange
detainee jumpsuit, get in a cell and wait for an Initial Response Force -- the
teams used to subdue misbehaving detainees.

From under the bunk, Baker heard the extraction team come in, he said in his
latest comments during a CBS television program aired Wednesday.

"My face was down. And of course, they're pushing it down against the steel
floor, you know, my right temple, pushing it down against the floor," Baker told
CBS.

The incident was purportedly recorded, one of some 500 hours of tapes that the
military has refused to publicly release.

Baker said he tried to tell his attackers he was a soldier but they repeatedly
slammed his head against the floor. Baker was airlifted to a naval hospital in
Virginia where doctors said he suffered a brain injury. He has been plagued by
seizures since, he said.

*

CNN --

June 22, 2004
US INDICTS CIA CONTRACTOR IN AFGHANISTAN PRISON DEATH
By Terry Frieden

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/17/afghan.indictment/

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A contractor working for the CIA has been indicted on
charges stemming from the death of a prisoner at a prison in Afghanistan,
Justice Department officials said.

It is the first time charges have been brought against a civilian since the
reports of alleged prison abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan surfaced in the past few
months.

The four-count indictment says the contractor, David Passaro, 38, beat an Afghan
prisoner identified as Abdul Wali, who had surrendered voluntarily at the front
gate of a U.S. detention facility near Asadabad in the northeastern Kunar
Province on June 18, 2003.

The remote site, which had been under frequent rocket attack, is about five
miles from the Pakistani border, where remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda
remain active.

A federal grand jury in Raleigh, North Carolina, returned the indictment, which
includes two counts of assault causing serious injury and two counts of assault
with a deadly weapon.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
upon conviction. Federal law allows civilian charges to be brought against U.S.
citizens for crimes overseas if they are not under military jurisdiction.

After a brief court appearance Thursday, Passaro was ordered to remain in
custody pending a detention hearing set for next Tuesday.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a Thursday news conference that Wali was
suspected of participating in the attacks on the Asadabad base and that
Passaro's job was to assist military personnel detain prisoners at the base.

While in custody, Wali was interrogated by Passaro about the rocket attacks,
Ashcroft said.

"During these interrogations on June 19 and June 20, it is alleged that Passaro
beat Wali repeatedly using his hands and feet and a large flashlight," Ashcroft
said, quoting from the indictment.

"Abdul Wali died in a cell on Asadabad Base on June 21, 2003," the indictment
says.

Passaro, a former U.S. Army Ranger, had arrived at the base at the beginning of
June, a U.S. official said.

Ashcroft said the case would be fully investigated.

"President Bush has made it clear that the U.S. will not tolerate criminal acts
of brutality such as those alleged in this indictment," he said in a prepared
statement. "The types of illegal abuse detailed run counter to our values and
our policies and are not representative of our men and women in the military and
associated personnel serving honorably and admirably for the cause of freedom."

Passaro, of Lillington, North Carolina, was arrested Thursday morning at his
workplace in Fayetteville.

Officials said Passaro was to have an initial appearance Thursday afternoon at
the federal courthouse in Raleigh.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New York-based legal advocacy
group, said it sent a letter to the Pentagon last year demanding an
investigation into the death of Wali. The November 12 CCR letter also called for
an investigation into the deaths of two Afghan detainees in U.S. custody at the
Bagram military base in Afghanistan.

The CIA inspector general has referred several cases to the Justice Department
for investigation.

A U.S. official said Thursday that Passaro had worked as a contractor for the
CIA since December 2002.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield issued a statement saying, "We take allegations of
wrongdoing very seriously, and it is important to bear in mind that CIA
immediately reported these allegations to the agency's inspector general and the
Department of Justice."

U.S. officials say there are a number of private contractors working for the CIA
in Afghanistan and Iraq. They declined to say how many.

CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor contributed to this report.

*

Savedave.us --

Letter from David Passaro in prison:

http://www.savedave.us/journal.html

# # #