EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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21may04
FBI chief: Agents didn't witness detainee abuse.
FBI agents who interviewed detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq did not witness any abuse or take part in any mistreatment, FBI Director Robert Mueller said Thursday.
Mueller said FBI rules prohibit agents from taking part in interrogations involving force, the threat of force or coercion, and they are obligated to report any such incidents they see.
"In the cases where we have been handling interviews, particularly over in Iraq, it has been done according to our standards, and there has been no waiver of that," Mueller said in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Also Thursday, officials confirmed that newly unearthed photos from Abu Ghraib show the body of a detainee whose death is the subject of a Justice Department inquiry.
And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lamented that the multiple investigations were diverting attention from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"An awful lot of us are spending an enormous amount of time on the subject," Rumsfeld told reporters after a private Capitol Hill briefing on Iraq for all senators.
He hastened to add, however, that "the situation needed to be addressed" and that criminal inquiries were the proper method.
In his testimony, Mueller said the FBI's standards for interrogations differ from those of the CIA and Defense Department.
When agents determine that those agencies' methods conflict with FBI rules, they do not participate, he said.
Although no agents witnessed abuse in Iraq, Mueller said that "upon occasion" agents have raised objections about the way certain interrogations overseas are handled.
Mueller also said the FBI was not yet involved in any investigations of handling of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan or the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
He confirmed that the CIA inspector general has referred cases for possible criminal prosecution to the Justice Department.
One of those cases is documented in new photos, first shown by ABC-TV on Wednesday, of a dead Abu Ghraib detainee whose body is packed with ice in a body bag.
The photos also show Army Spec. Charles Graner Jr. and Spec. Sabrina Harman posing with the body, smiling and giving the thumbs-up sign. Graner and Harman have already been charged in the Iraqi prison abuse.
A U.S. government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the dead detainee as Manadel al-Jamadi. The official said al-Jamadi's death was among those referred to the Justice Department by the CIA inspector general for possible criminal prosecution.
At least three such CIA cases have been referred to the Justice Department, the official said.
In addition, another U.S. official said a detainee died of hypothermia in 2002 while in captivity in Afghanistan.
The Justice Department reviewed the role of CIA personnel in the death and decided not to prosecute. This official also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has said that civilian contractors or others not under military legal jurisdiction could be prosecuted under U.S. law for crimes committed overseas, including prohibitions against torture.
[Source: By Curt Anderson, The Associated Press, The Denver Post, 21May04]
 | This document has been published on 07Jun04 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |