IRAQ: BRITIAN'S SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAQ, ANN CLWYD, VISITS NOW NOTORIOUS PRISON AT ABU GHRAIB.
Record ID:
648733
IRAQ: BRITIAN'S SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAQ, ANN CLWYD, VISITS NOW NOTORIOUS PRISON AT ABU GHRAIB.
- Title: IRAQ: BRITIAN'S SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAQ, ANN CLWYD, VISITS NOW NOTORIOUS PRISON AT ABU GHRAIB.
- Date: 13th May 2004
- Summary: (EU) ABU GHRAIB, (MAY 12, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. LV/GV: ANN CLYWD, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND LABOUR PARTY'S SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAQ, AND HER DELEGATION VISITING THE PRISON WITH IRAQI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER; DELEGATION AND HAMID AL-BAYATI, IRAQI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER (2 SHOTS) 0.11 2. MV/PAN: BACKVIEW BAYATI AND CLYWD WALKING AROUND THE PRISON GROUNDS 0.19 3. GV/CU: U.S. MILITARY POSITION AT THE PRISON; WATCH TOWER; U.S. SOLDIER UP WATCHTOWER (3 SHOTS) 0.34 4. GV/CU: TENTS AT THE NEWLY SET UP VISITOR CENTRE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF BARBED WIRE; BARBED WIRE FENCE; VISITOR CENTRE; ENTRANCE TO VISITOR CENTRE TENT (4 SHOTS) 0.52 5. GV/MV/CU: DELEGATION WALKING INTO VISITOR CENTRE; SIGN READING VISITOR CENTRE; DELEGATION ENTERS TENT; DELEGATION WITH U.S. SOLDIER; INTERIOR OF VISITOR CENTRE WITH SCREENS (5 SHOTS) 1.18 6. GV/PAN: WIRE FENCE PAN TO DELEGATION 1.30 7. GV: CLWYD AND BAYATI 1.35 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANN CLYWD, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND LABOUR PARTY'S SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAQ, SAYING: "Some people have been beating the coalition over the head over the abuses that took place here and trying to make a comparison with what happened under Saddam Hussein's regime and I think quite clearly this is ridiculous." 1.55 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER HAMID AL-BAYATI, SAYING: "Well, but I think what happened was outrageous but it must be a group of sick people who did that because I don't think this is acceptable by any standard human being or soldiers in the coalition forces. I am sure this is not the legal procedure of this prison or somewhere else, I am sure some people do that illegally and we will make sure that they will be brought to justice and then nothing like that will happen." 2.27 10. MV: SOLDIERS WITH DELEGATION AND WATCH TOWER IN BACKGOUND 2.32 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CLWYD, SAYING: "I went to Basra in March and visited the detention centre there and there were much smaller number of people there, less than a hundred compared to 8,000 here and in Basra too after meetings with the Red Cross changes have taken place. There are allegations against the British also which are being investigated, and there is no doubt I think on both sides, British and American that people who are responsible will be brought to justice." 3.07 12. GV: DELEGATION WITH U.S. SOLDIERS AND U.S. HUMVEE 3.11 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAYATI, SAYING: "We asked specifically about assurances and guarantees that what happened will not take place again and General Miller assured us that they are taking all the measures to make sure that nothing similar to what happened take place again." 3.29 14. GV/CU/GV/PAN: VARIOUS OF DELEGATION CARS LEAVING 4.02 (EU) ABU GHRAIB, IRAQ (RECENT - MAY 10, 2004) (REUTERS) 15. GV: PRISON WALL, EXTERIOR CELLS 4.06 16. GV: INTERIOR PRISON, CELLS (2 SHOTS) 4.16 17. CU: EMPTY CELL DOORS 4.22 18. CU/TILT UP: INTERIOR CELL 4.30 19. GV: OPEN CELL DOOR 4.25 20. GV/TILT UP: CORRIDOR AND TILT UP TO U.S. SOLDIER 4.40 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 28th May 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ABU GHRAIB, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA7SL6MKX7F5GBTP6ZFF8BFX2U1
- Story Text: Britain's special envoy on human rights in Iraq
visits the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
British Member of Parliament and special envoy on
human rights in Iraq, Ann Clywd, visited Abu Ghraib prison
on Wednesday (May 12) as the U.S. forces in Baghdad
announced two more soldiers would be court martialed over
abuses of Iraqi prisoners at the jail.
Abu Ghraib has come under intense international focus
after photos of abuse were published in recent days.
Images of grinning U.S. soldiers threatening naked
Iraqi prisoners with dogs have armed domestic critics of
President Bush's administration and alienated Iraqis to
whom Washington plans to hand sovereignty on June 30.
Soldiers charged over the abuse have said they acted on
the orders of intelligence specialists at the jail. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it
told senior U.S. officials of its concerns over Abu Ghraib
in January.
Clwyd dismissed as "ridiculous" comparisons drawn
between the treatment of prisoners by coalition forces and
those under deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"Some people have been beating the coalition over the
head over the abuses that took place here and trying to
make a comparison with what happened under Saddam Hussein's
regime and I think quite clearly this is ridiculous," she
said.
Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister, Hamid al-Bayati, said
those U.S. soldiers charged with the abuse of prisoners
there were "sick people" but not representative of the rest
of the United States.
Bayati said on Thursday (May 6) that Iraqi judges
should take part in any investigations into the
mistreatment of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison.
"Well but I think what happened was outrageous but it
must be a group of sick people who did that because I don't
think this is acceptable by any standard human being or
soldiers in the coalition forces. I am sure this is not the
legal procedure of this prison or somewhere else, I am sure
some people do that illegally and we will make sure that
they will be brought to justice and then nothing like that
will happen," said Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister.
Tony Blair pledged on Monday (May 10) to crack down on
any British mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners as humanitarian
organisations said they had alerted his government to
abuses months ago.
Human rights group Amnesty International and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) say British
authorities were told of serious complaints last year.
The ICRC report, posted on the Wall Street Journal
website on Monday (May 10) and confirmed as genuine by the
Geneva-based body, described British troops forcing Iraqi
prisoners to kneel and stamping on their necks in an
incident in which one prisoner died.
ICRC spokeswoman Antonella Notari confirmed a report on
the treatment of prisoners in 14 jails in Iraq was handed
to the government in February.
Clwyd said she was pleased to hear that the Red Cross
and Human Rights organisations were now well established in
Iraq.
She added that perpetrators of abuse in Abu Ghraib as
well as in the British controlled southern area of Iraq
would be brought to justice.
Although much of the abuse described in the Red Cross
report appears to have taken place in jails run by U.S.
forces, it also described the death of an Iraqi prisoner in
custody in the British zone Basra last September. His name
is blacked out.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said the allegation was
not new, but appeared to be a reference to the death of an
Iraqi detainee named Baha Musa, which Britain says it has
been investigating since last year.
"I went to Basra in March and visited the detention
centre there and there were much smaller number of people
there, less than a hundred compared to 8,000 here and in
Basra too after meetings with the Red Cross changes have
taken place. There are allegations against the British also
which are being investigated, and there is no doubt I think
on both sides, British and American that people who are
responsible will be brought to justice," Clwyd said.
Bayati said they had spoken to U.S. Major General
Miller, in charge of all military detainees in Iraq, and
that he had sought assurances that the abuse of prisoners
will stop.
"We asked specifically about assurances and guarantees
that what happened will not take place again and General
Miller assured us that they are taking all the measures to
make sure that nothing similar to what happened take place
again," Bayati said.
The CIA said it was investigating the deaths of three
prisoners interrogated by its personnel in Iraq and
Afghanistan but did not say if these were among the 25
reported by the Army.
U.S. Defence officials sharply disputed suggestions
that U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld or other
senior Pentagon authorities turned a deaf ear to the
appeals and ignored festering problems at U.S.-run
detention centres.
Iraq's former Interior Minister, who resigned last
month, said the US authorities had refused to take action
when advised by the Governing Council that abuses were
taking place.
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