- SAN DIEGO - An Iraqi
whose corpse was photographed with grinning U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib
died under CIA interrogation while in a position condemned by human rights
groups as torture - suspended by his wrists, with his hands cuffed behind
his back, according to reports reviewed by The Associated Press.
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- The death of the prisoner, Manadel al-Jamadi, became
known last year when the Abu Ghraib prison scandal broke. The U.S. military
said back then that the death had been ruled a homicide. But the exact
circumstances under which the man died were not disclosed at the time.
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- The prisoner died in a position known as "Palestinian
hanging," the documents reviewed by The AP show. It is unclear whether
that position was approved by the Bush administration for use in CIA interrogations.
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- The spy agency, which faces congressional scrutiny over
its detention and interrogation of terror suspects at the Baghdad prison
and elsewhere, declined to comment for this story, as did the Justice Department).
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- Al-Jamadi was one of the CIA's "ghost" detainees
at Abu Ghraib - prisoners being held secretly by the agency.
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- His death in November 2003 became public with the release
of photos of Abu Ghraib guards giving a thumbs-up over his bruised and
puffy-faced corpse, which had been packed in ice. One of those guards was
Pvt. Charles Graner, who last month received 10 years in a military prison
for abusing detainees.
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- Al-Jamadi died in a prison shower room during about a
half-hour of questioning, before interrogators could extract any information,
according to the documents, which consist of statements from Army prison
guards to investigators with the military and the CIA's Inspector General's
office.
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- One Army guard, Sgt. Jeffery Frost, said the prisoner's
arms were stretched behind him in a way he had never before seen. Frost
told investigators he was surprised al-Jamadi's arms "didn't pop out
of their sockets," according to a summary of his interview.
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- Frost and other guards had been summoned to reposition
al-Jamadi, who an interrogator said was not cooperating. As the guards
released the shackles and lowered al-Jamadi, blood gushed from his mouth
"as if a faucet had been turned on," according to the interview
summary.
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- The military pathologist who ruled the case a homicide
found several broken ribs and concluded al-Jamadi died from pressure to
the chest and difficulty breathing.
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- Dr. Michael Baden, a distinguished civilian pathologist
who reviewed the autopsy for a defense attorney in the case, agreed in
an interview that the position in which al-Jamadi was suspended could have
contributed to his death.
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- Dr. Vincent Iacopino, director of research for Physicians
for Human Rights, called the hyper-extension of the arms behind the back
"clear and simple torture." The European Court of Human Rights
found Turkey guilty of torture in 1996 in a case of Palestinian hanging
- a technique Iacopino said is used worldwide but named for its alleged
use by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
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- The Washington Post reported last year that after the
Abu Ghraib scandal broke, the CIA suspended the use of its "enhanced
interrogation techniques," including stress positions, because of
fears that the agency could be accused of unsanctioned and illegal activity.
The newspaper said the White House had approved the tactics.
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- Navy SEALs apprehended al-Jamadi as a suspect in the
Oct. 27, 2003, bombing of Red Cross offices in Baghdad that killed 12 people.
His alleged role in the bombing is unclear. According to court documents
and testimony, the SEALs punched, kicked and struck al-Jamadi with their
rifles before handing him over to the CIA early on Nov. 4. By 7 a.m., al-Jamadi
was dead.
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- Navy prosecutors in San Diego have charged nine SEALs
and one sailor with abusing al-Jamadi and others. All but two lieutenants
have received nonjudicial punishment; one lieutenant is scheduled for court-martial
in March, the other is awaiting a hearing before the Navy's top SEAL.
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- The statements from five of Abu Ghraib's Army guards
were shown to The AP by an attorney for one of the SEALs, who said they
offered a more balanced picture of what happened. The lawyer asked not
to be identified, saying he feared repercussions for his client.
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- According to the statements:
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- Al-Jamadi was brought naked below the waist to the prison
with a CIA interrogator and translator. A green plastic bag covered his
head, and plastic cuffs tightly bound his wrists. Guards dressed al-Jamadi
in an orange jumpsuit, slapped on metal handcuffs and escorted him to the
shower room, a common CIA interrogation spot.
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- There, the interrogator instructed guards to attach shackles
from the prisoner's handcuffs to a barred window. That would let al-Jamadi
stand without pain, but if he tried to lower himself, his arms would be
stretched above and behind him.
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- The documents do not make clear what happened after guards
left. After about a half-hour, the interrogator called for the guards to
reposition the prisoner, who was slouching with his arms stretched behind
him.
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- The interrogator told guards that al-Jamadi was "playing
possum" - faking it - and then watched as guards struggled to get
him on his feet. But the guards realized it was useless.
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- "After we found out he was dead, they were nervous,"
Spc. Dennis E. Stevanus said of the CIA interrogator and translator. "They
didn't know what the hell to do."
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