The U.S. military released 272 security detainees Tuesday from Abu Ghraib prison, once Saddam Hussein's most notorious lockup. Many smiled or flashed V-for-victory signs, while others shouted angry complaints.
In a carefully choreographed event, the prisoners were brought out in groups from inside the prison. Given $10 each toward the cost of their journeys home, they left in buses chartered by the U.S. military for Baghdad or the center of Abu Ghraib. Reporters taken by the military to witness the event were not allowed to interview the men being released. To the dismay of U.S. troops, some detainees, who mostly wore Arab robes or tracksuits, shouted a few words to the waiting reporters. Most refused to give their names or say which part of Iraq they came from or why they were detained. "I just came out of hell," screamed one. All those who spoke claimed innocence. "I never knew what I was accused of," said Yasser al-Badri.
| "Wudn't me! I wuz framed!" |
Tuesday's event followed the release of 168 prisoners on Sunday without any publicity. The issue of security detainees held in coalition custody has been a sensitive one since the fall of Baghdad on April 9. Many detainees were captured in security sweeps by coalition forces searching for suspected insurgents, their financiers or arms traders. Iraqis say many arrests were arbitrary and based on tips from informers with ulterior motives, like settling old scores. Many Iraqis complain they are unable to locate detained relatives and friends. Recently, the coalition has posted the names of detainees on the Internet, but most Iraqis have no access to the World Wide Web.
| ... and there are no kind souls in Iraq who do have access to the internet with access to printers. |
Those who succeed in tracking down detainees often complain they cannot visit them. Essick told reporters Tuesday that a visitation center at Abu Ghraib was being set up, but acknowledged some inmates could go for long periods without a visitor. Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, said last week that many former detainees claim to have been tortured and ill-treated by coalition troops during interrogation.
| Which AI bought immediately. |
Methods often reported, it said, included prolonged sleep deprivation, beatings, exposure to loud music and prolonged hooding. "Relatives of those held inside still wait outside (Abu Ghraib prison) for news of their loved ones, and lawyers are still turned away," the rights group said. Detainees are supposed to be told within 72 hours of their arrest the reason for their detention. Additionally, a review board has met daily since Feb. 17 with a view to releasing the innocent. Two U.S. Army officers helped detainees get off Army trucks Tuesday that brought them from inside the high-walled prison complex to a secure area outside. Some detainees shook the officers' hands and at least one embraced them. Some detainees were elderly. Some looked bitter, even angry, others were silent. One detainee with a silver beard claimed to have been beaten, but refused to give his name. "Thank you! thank you!" some younger detainees told the officers and soldiers in English. Many carried copies of the Quran supplied by prison authorities. Some waved pink and green prison-issue towels, while others used them as turban-like protection against the sun.
| Kind of a confused set of reactions from a group of people who were uniformly mistreated, isn't it? |
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