Two more US soldiers face trial

cctv.com 05-13-2004 08:57

Another two US soldiers face court-martial over allegations of abusing Iraqi prisoners. And Iraq's former Interior Minister, claims the Governing Council had suspected the abuses, but American soldiers covered them up when Iraqi officials went to investigate.

US Brigadier-General Mark Kimmit announced that two more American soldiers have been ordered to stand trial over the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

He said Sergeant Ivan Frederick and Sergeant Javal Davis were ordered to undergo a general court martial. Frederick and Davis each face five charges, four identical and relating to maltreating detainees, dereliction of duty, and assault.

Meanwhile, commenting on the US handling of Iraqi prisoners, the former Iraqi Interior Minister said every time the US military police at the prisons were pressured to allow a visit by Iraqi officials, they would clean up the jails.

Former Iraqi Interior Minister Nouri Bandran said, "The abuses have been happening for a long time and the occupation forces and the officials of the coalition authorities knew about them as they acknowledged them themselves. But why did they not say anything about them? We did not know about them. We heard about them from prisoners who were released, but we received no answers when we asked the coalition authorities."

Photographs showing Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib jail have badly damaged the US's credibility, especially throughout the Arab Middle East. Badran said the abuses may even have been far worse than the pictures shown in the international press.

He cited a visit by an Iraqi council member to the prison two months ago to investigate a report that women were being raped. Badran said Iraqis did not care whether or not a few US soldiers were sacked over the abuse scandal. But he added that it weakens their argument that they are "fostering human rights".

Meanwhile, in the early hours of Wednesday, US tanks fired at human targets in a street of Baghdad's sprawling Sadr City district before sending in their tanks.

A senior US military official said on Tuesday that they'd killed 35 Mehdi Army members over two days. The Mehdi Army said the US has exaggerated the number of their casualties.

Masked militiamen continued to roam the streets of the Shi'ite neighborhood during the day, burning tyres and setting up roadblocks.

Editor:Zhang  Source:CCTV.com