The U.S. government has consistently asserted through various spokespersons that they do not torture those detained by them either in Iraq, Afghanistan or Cuba. Yet again and again prisoners upon their release have talked about just such treatment. One might suspect that they were doing this for revenge upon a system and a government who has detained people on the flimsiest of evidence or none at all. Today's New York Times spot lights another one of these people Laith al-Ani held for more than 2 years my American forces without ever being charged with any crime. Does this sound familiar?
The story begins with a description of Mr Laith al-Ani's release and the anxiety he felt about what was about to happen.
He struggled to quell his hope. Other prisoners had gotten as far as the gate only to be brought back inside, he said, and he feared that would happen to him as punishment for letting his family discuss his case with a reporter
The final step that would lead to Mr Ani's release was for him to place a check mark by the sentence which best described his treatment while in the custody of U.S. forces in Iraq the two choices?
"I didn’t go through any abuse during detention," read the first option, in Arabic.
"I have gone through abuse during detention," read the second
Here he is about to be released and he has to decide which is best telling the truth or just lying so that he can be released.
"Even the translator told me to sign the first answer," said Mr. Ani, who gave a copy of his form to The New York Times. "I asked him what happens if I sign the second one, and he raised his hands," as if to say, Who knows?
"I thought if I don’t sign the first one I am not going to get out of this place."
What led to Mr. Ani's detention in the first place? You'll just love this.
Mr. Ani, a women’s clothing merchant, said he was detained in 2004 after American soldiers who were searching for weapons in his six-family apartment building found an Iraqi military uniform in the basement. His joy upon being released in January was short-lived. Days later, he said, a Shiite militia ransacked his home in Baghdad, looking to kill him. He hid, going from house to house, until he could move his family out of Iraq.
Like so many others detained in Iraq Mr. Anai was questioned about the mundane things in life. Are you married? Which Mosque do you pray at? These are questions you might ask your new neighbors. Was he ever questioned about his links to terrorists or terrorist organizations? Of course not.
Mr. Ani said the electric prods were first used on him on the way to Camp Bucca. "I was talking to someone next to me and they used it," he said, describing the device as black plastic with a yellow tip and two iron prongs. He said the prods were commonly used on him and other detainees as punishment.
"The whole body starts to shake and hurt," he said. "And you lose consciousness for a couple of seconds. One time they used it on my tongue. One guard held me from the left and another on my back and another used it against my tongue and for four or five days I couldn’t eat."
Mr. Ani isn't the only former Iraqi prisoner interviewed for this article. Others interviewed separately by the New York Times gave details about the abuse they had suffered while being held by American forces in Iraq.
Sadly this isn't the first time allegations have been made against the United States concerning the treatment of prisoners in its custody. How many such revelations must occur