Iraqi Police Charged with Torture

[Mephisto]

I wonder where they learned that it's okay for a Democracy to torture?

Iraq charges dozens of police with torture

POSTED: 8:10 a.m. EST, November 7, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it had brought the first-ever charges of torture against members of the Iraqi police, who are accused of close ties to the Shiite death squads whose daily abductions and killings fuel the sectarian violence convulsing the country.

The torture that led to the charges described Tuesday took place at a prison in eastern Baghdad called Site No. 4, the Interior Ministry said.

The police charged and removed from their jobs include a general, 19 officers, 20 noncommissioned officers and 17 patrolmen or civilian employees.

Their names were being withheld, but ministry spokesman Brig. Abdel-Karim Khalaf said the general had received administrative punishment and would face criminal charges.

Khalaf declined to give details about specific abuses or what sentences the policemen could receive if found guilty.

"All of these people will stand trial and the court will decide their fate," Khalaf said.

Authorities reported finding the bodies of a dozen apparent death squad victims floating in the Tigris River south of Baghdad. All had been blindfolded and bound at the wrists and ankles, before being shot in the head and chest.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/07/iraq.main.ap/index.html
________________

This is pretty relevant too. I can only imagine how much longer re-training everyone will take.

Officials say they plan eventually to retrain all 26 national police battalions -- the Interior Ministry's paramilitary units -- and weed out those suspected of ties to sectarian militias and criminal gangs.

 

[Darth Rotor]

I wonder where they learned that it's okay for a Democracy to torture?

raq charges dozens of police with torture

Red herring. Cops abusing people in jail is a very old Iraqi habit. Do you think that Americans being underfoot for three years is actually going to change the Iraqi worldview? Are you actually a plant from PNAC?

Remember, some soldiers in Abu Ghraib messed up with prisoners, and got charged, sent to court, and punished. (Sadly, their commander is still free. She should be in jail with them.) The example is pretty well set: you break the rules, you are accountable.

DR

 

[ponderingturtle]

Red herring. Cops abusing people in jail is a very old Iraqi habit. Do you think that Americans being underfoot for three years is actually going to change the Iraqi worldview? Are you actually a plant from PNAC?

Remember, some soldiers in Abu Ghraib messed up with prisoners, and got charged, sent to court, and punished. (Sadly, their commander is still free. She should be in jail with them.) The example is pretty well set: you break the rules, you are accountable.

DR

And Abu Ghraib shows the importance of the media in such situations, because there never would have been an investigation if it was not for the public outrage.

 

[Mephisto]

I agree regarding their commander, but I think it's still sad that they could concievably point at the U.S. as endorsing the same thing.

Red herring has been a constant staple for the American people since 2001.

 

[Darth Rotor]

And Abu Ghraib shows the importance of the media in such situations, because there never would have been an investigation if it was not for the public outrage.

False, PT. Check your facts with a bit of research.

The DOD began an investigation into Abu Ghraib in October/November of 2003. The Sec Def was briefed in Nov of Dec of 2003. ETA: Apparently, the critical brief was in January 2004, not Dec 2003.

People were charged, the due process was underway via the usual UCMJ process that deals with violating the regs.

The public outcry was a response to the release of the photos, which was a tactic (taking you down with me, as I understood it) of at least one (IIRC two) of those charged with the various regulation violations. This is extremely old news.

A few tidbits for you.

January 16, 2004
The U.S. Command in Baghdad issues a one-paragraph press release about an investigation into prisoner abuse. A Lexis-Nexis search shows that most media outlets either ignored the announcement or ran brief stories.

Oct. 13-Nov. 6 2003 : A team of military police and legal and medical experts reviews the prison system in Iraq; it concludes that there are possible manpower, training and human rights problems that should be addressed immediately.

• Jan. 13 2004: A Member of the 800th Military Police Brigade tells superiors about prison abuses, and Pentagon officials are informed. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is told a day or so later. Shortly afterward, Rumsfeld tells Bush.

DR

 

[Tailgater]

I wonder where they learned that it's okay for a Democracy to torture?

Obviously Hollywood action films where the good guy always triumphs by kicking the bad guys ass.