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German TV report reprinted, with original translation by Richard Gawthrop
Translation for this website by Richard Gawthrop download
doc or
pdf version
Thanks to Paul Amrod, who saw this on German TV and brought
it to our attention.
July 12, 2004; updated frequently
Revealed: coalition forces imprison Iraqi children - Neil McKay
http://www.sundayherald.com/43796
See German TV
report on Torture and Abuse of Child Detainees
click on link above or scoll down following recent developments and
stories on abuse of child detainees in Iraq
July 15 - Senate investigation of prisoner abuse continues - see
AP
story.
SeeThe
Agonist and EdCone.com
for more information and reaction. See the
video of Seymour Hersh's report that boys in US custody were
sodomized at Abu Gharib prison.
July 8, 2004 -Save
the Children calls for release of all child detainees in Iraq
July 6 - Norway Reacts to torture of Iraqi children by US: http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/article249696.ece
Norway's Reaction: July 6, 2004
Norway reacts to torture of children
Carin Pettersson 06.07.04 11:59
As a reaction to the alleged torture of children, Norwegian authorities state they will address the US both politically and diplomatically and clearly state that it is not tolerated.
German television aired footage of American abuse of children in jails in Iraq Monday.
«Such assaults are unacceptable,» said Odd Jostein Sæter, parliamentary secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, to the Norwegian television channel NRK. «It is against international laws and it is also unacceptable from a moral point of view. This is why we react strongly, as we already have reacted to the abuse which is documented at the prisons in Iraq.»
He said that Norwegian authorities will use its first possible opportunity to respond to the Americans actions both politically and diplomatically. He stressed that jailing and assaulting children will not be tolerated.
«We are addressing this in a very severe and direct way and present concrete demands,» Sætre said. «This is damaging the struggle for democracy and human rights in Iraq.»
Norwegian authorities are going to review the report of the alleged assaults.
The Norwegian branch of Amnesty International states that Norway can not continue its military collaboration with the US in light of the alleged torture of children.
Report Mainz
vom 5. Juli 2004
video http://www.swr.de/report/archiv/sendungen/040705/02/04070502.ram
SŸndenfall Irak Ð Berichte Ÿber misshandelte Kinder
im Folter-Gefþngnis
"The
Fall [in the sense of the sin at the Garden of Eden]--Iraq" -
Report
concerning maltreated children in the torture-prison.
Moderation
Fritz Frey:
Nachrichten
aus dem Irak. Der tþgliche Anschlag, Saddam vor Gericht, entfŸhrte Soldaten,
jede neue Meldung Ÿberdeckt die vorherige. Der Skandal um das Foltergefþngnis
Abu Ghraib, ach ja, da war doch was.
REPORT
ist am Thema drangeblieben und ist dabei auf einen ganz unglaublichen Verdacht
gesto§en. In Abu Ghraib und anderswo seien auch Kinder und Jugendliche inhaftiert
und misshandelt worden. Thomas Reutter mit einer schwierigen Spurensuche.
Reports
from Iraq: the daily attack, Saddam on trial, kidnapped
soldiers,
every new headline covers over the preceding one. The scandal
of
the torture prison of Abu Gharib, oh yes, that was indeed one.
REPORT
has stuck to this story and has in the process come across a
totally
unbelievable suspicion. In Abu Gharib and elsewhere children
and
youth have been incarcerated and mistreated. Thomas Reutter with a
difficult
search for clues.
Bericht:
Mit
dem Panzerwagen durch die TŸr. US-Soldaten stŸrmen ein Wohnhaus, suchen nach
Terroristen. Manchmal verhaften die Soldaten bei solchen Razzien auch Kinder.
Was geschieht mit diesen Kindern? DarŸber macht das Militþr keine Angaben.
Wir recherchieren, treffen uns mit Informanten.
Einer,
der darŸber etwas wei§, ist Sergeant Samuel Provance vom Geheimdienst der
US-Armee. Ein halbes Jahr lang war er im berŸchtigten Foltergefþngnis Abu
Ghraib stationiert. Heute, fŸnf Monate danach, treffen wir Sergeant Provance
in Heidelberg.
Seine
Vorgesetzten haben ihm streng verboten Journalisten davon zu berichten, was
er in Abu Ghraib erlebt hat. Doch Provance will trotzdem darŸber sprechen.
Ihn plagen Gewissensbisse. Er erzþhlt uns von einem 16-jþhrigen Jungen, den
er selbst abfŸhren musste.
Report:
With
tanks coming through the gate. U.S. soldiers storm an apartment
building
looking for terrorists. Sometimes
during such roundups the
soldiers
also arrest children. What happens
to the children? About
that
the military gives no information. We investigate, as it happens,
through
informants.
One
of them, who is knowledgeable about these things, is Sergeant
Samuel
Provance from U.S. Army Intelligence.
For half a year he was
stationed
in the notorious Abu Ghraib torture-prison. Today, five
months
later, we meet with Sergeant Provance in Heidelberg.
His
superiors have strictly forbidden him from reporting to journalists
about
what he experienced in Abu Ghraib. Yet Provance wants to talk
about
it nonetheless. Pangs of conscience plague him. He tells us about
one
16-year-old, whom he himself had to lead away.
O-Ton,
Samuel Provance, US-Sergeant:
ÈEr
war voller Angst, sehr alleine. Er hatte die dŸnnsten €rmchen, die ich je
gesehen habe. Er zitterte am ganzen Leib. Seine Handgelenke waren so dŸnn,
dass wir ihm nicht mal Handschellen anlegen konnten. Gleich als ich ihn zum
ersten mal sah und zum Verhšr fŸhrte, tat er mir Leid. Die Verhšrspezialisten
haben ihn mit Wasser Ÿbergossen und in einen Wagen gesteckt. Dann sind sie
mit ihm durch die Nacht gefahren, und zu der Zeit war es sehr, sehr kalt.
Danach haben sie ihn mit Schlamm beschmiert und zeigten ihm seinen ebenfalls
gefangenen Vater. An ihm hatten sie andere Verhšrmethoden ausprobiert. Er
war aber nicht zum Sprechen zu bringen. Die Verhšrspezialisten sagten mir,
nachdem der Vater dann seinen Sohn in diesem Zustand gesehen hatte, brach
ihm das Herz. Er weinte und versprach ihnen alles zu sagen, was sie wissen
wollten.Ç
Der
Sohn aber blieb trotzdem in Haft. Als 16-Jþhriger kam der Junge zu den Erwachsenen.
Doch Provance berichtet auch von einer speziellen Abteilung, eigens fŸr Kinder.
Ein geheimgehaltener Kindertrakt im Horrorgefþngnis Abu Ghraib.
Einer,
der den Kindertrakt mit eigenen Augen gesehen hat, ist der Journalist Suhaib
Badr-Addin Al-Baz. Unser Korrespondent traf ihn vergangene Woche in Bagdad.
Der irakische Fernsehreporter berichtet wie er selbst von den Amerikanern
bei Dreharbeiten willkŸrlich verhaftet wurde und 74 Tage in Abu Ghraib sa§.
ÒHe
was full of fear, very alone. He
had the thinnest little arms that
I
have ever seen. His whole body
shook. His wrists were so thin that
we
could not put handcuffs on him. As soon as I saw him for the first
time
and led him to the interrogation, I felt sorry for him. The
interrogation
specialists doused him with water and put him in a truck.
Then
they drove with him throughout the night, and at that time it
was
very, very cold. Then they smeared him with mud and showed him to his
likewise
imprisoned father. With him [the father] they had tried out
other
interrogation methods. But they
had not succeeded in making him
talk. The interrogation specialists told me
that after the father had
seen
his son in that condition, it broke his heart. He wept and
promised
to tell them what they wanted to know.Ó
The
son however remained in custody, and the 16-year-old was put in with the adults.
Yet Provance reported also about a special department, expressly for children.
A secret children's wing in the horror prison of Abu Ghraib.
One
person, who has seen the children's wing with his own eyes, is the
journalist
Suhaib Badr-Addin Al-Baz. Our
correspondent met him some
week
ago in Baghdad. The Iraqi TV reporter related how he himself was
arrested
arbitrarily by the Americans while shooting film and spent 74
days
in Abu Ghraib.
O-Ton,
Suhaib Badr-Addin Al-Baz, Fernsehreporter:
ÈDort
sah ich ein Camp fŸr Kinder. Jung, unter dem Pubertþtsalter. In diesem Lager
waren sicherlich Hunderte von Kindern. Einige sind freigelassen, andere sind
bestimmt noch drin.Ç
Von
seiner Einzelzelle aus im Erwachsenentrakt hšrt Suhaib ein vielleicht 12-jþhriges
Mþdchen weinen. Spþter erfuhr er, dass ihr Bruder im zweiten Stock des Gefþngnisses
einsa§. Ein, zwei Mal, sagt Suhaib, habe er sie selbst gesehen.
In
der Nacht seien sie bei ihr in der Zelle gewesen. Das Mþdchen habe zu den
anderen Hþftlingen geschrieen und den Namen ihres Bruders gerufen.
Ein
Zeichner hat die Szene fŸr den britischen Fernsehsender ITN gemalt.
"There
I saw a camp for children. Young,
under the age of puberty. In
this
camp were certainly hundreds of children.
Some of them have been
released,
others are definitely still in there."
From
his solitary cell in the adults' wing, Suhaib heard a perhaps
12-year-old
girl weeping. Later he learned
that her brother was on the
third
floor of the prison. One or two
times, says Suhaib, he saw her
himself.
In
the night, according to Suhaib, they were with her in her cell.
The
girl shreeked out to the other prisoners and called out to her
brother.
An
artist has painted this scene for the British TV network ITN.
O-Ton,
Suhaib Badr-Addin Al-Baz, Fernsehreporter:
ÈSie
wurde geschlagen. Ich hšrte sie rufen: Sie haben mich ausgezogen. Sie haben
Wasser Ÿber mich geschŸttet.Ç
Tþglich,
sagt Suhaib, habe man ihre Schreie und ihr Wimmern gehšrt. Manche der Hþftlinge
hþtten deshalb geweint. Suhaib berichtet auch von einem kranken 15-jþhrigen
Jungen. Den hþtten sie mit schweren Wasserkanistern den Gang rauf und runter
gehetzt. So lange, bis er vor Erschšpfung zusammenbrach, sagt Suhaib. Dann
hþtten sie seinen Vater gebracht, gefangen. Mit Kapuze Ÿber dem Kopf. Vor
Schock sei der Junge noch mal zusammengebrochen.
Im
sogenannten ãKampf gegen den TerrorÒ, stŸrmen die Amerikaner irakische Wohnungen.
Laut Suhaib nehmen sie dabei manchmal ganze Familien, die ihnen verdþchtig
erscheinen, fest. Einzelne Zeugenaussagen, schwer zu ŸberprŸfen.
Wir
recherchieren nach weiteren Belegen fŸr die Gefangennahme von Kindern. Und
tatsþchlich. UNICEF in Genf, das Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen. Wir
finden einen brisanten Bericht. Erst wenige Tage alt.
"She
was beaten. I heard her call:
'They have undressed me. They
have
poured water over me.'"
Daily,
says Suhaib, one heard her crying and wimpering. Many of the
prisoners
wept when they heard her. Suhaib reported also about a sick
15-year-old
youth. They chased him up and
down the corridor with heavy
water
cannisters. For so long until he collapsed from
exhaustion,
says Suhaib. Then they brought in his father, also a
prisoner.
He had a hood over his head. From shock the youth collapsed
once
again.
In
the so-called "War on Terrorism," the Americans storm Iraqi houses.
According
to Suhaib, they sometimes in the process seize whole families
who
appear suspicious to them. Statements
from individual witnesses,
difficult
to confirm.
We
research for further proof for the incarceration of children. And
indeed.
UNICEF in Geneva, the children's charity of the United Nations.
We
find an explosive report. Only a few days old.
Darin
hei§t es:
In
the report it reads:
Zitat:
Citation:
ÈKinder,
die in Basra und Kerbala (..) festgenommen worden waren, wurden routinemþ§ig
in eine Internierungseinrichtung in Um Qasr Ÿberstellt.Ç
"Children,
who had been seized in Basra and Kerbala, were routinely
put
over into an internment facility in Um Qasr.
Das
Internierungslager Um Qasr. Aufnahmen aus 2003. Heute ist es fŸr Reporter
zu gefþhrlich, nach Um Qasr zu fahren. Das Camp, ein Gefangenenlager fŸr Terroristen
und Kriminelle. Ausgerechnet hier sollen die Amerikaner also Kinder wie Kriegsgefangene
interniert halten. UNICEF schreibt:
Internment camp Um Qasr.
Footage/photos from 2003. Today
it is too dangerous for reporters to travel to Um Qasr.
The camp, a prison for terrorists and criminals. Precisely here should Americans therefore
hold children interned as prisoners of war.
Zitat:
ÈDie
Einstufung dieser Kinder als ãInternierteÒ ist besorgniserregend, da sie unbestimmte
Haftzeit, ohne Kontakt mit der Familie, Erwartung eines Verfahrens oder Prozess
beinhaltet.Ç
"The
classification of these children as "internees" is alarming, since
it contains them for an indefinite time in prison, without contact with their
families or expectation of legal proceedings or trial."
†ber
den bislang unveršffentlichten Bericht hinaus will sich UNICEF noch nicht
þu§ern. Die eigenen Mitarbeiter im Irak sollen nicht gefþhrdet werden. Wir
suchen nach weiteren Informationen, wenden uns ans Internationale Komitee
vom Roten Kreuz. Deren Helfer inspizieren Um Qasr, Abu Ghraib und andere Haftorte.
Und nach intensiven Gesprþchen dann eine weitere Bestþtigung und sogar Zahlen.
Over
this up to now unpublished report UNICEF does not yet want to say anything.
[Their reason is that] Their own workers in Iraq should not be put
in danger. Seeking more information, we turned to the International Committee
of the Red Cross, whose helpers inspected Um Qasr, Abu Ghraib and other places
of detention. And after intensive conversations came
a further confirmation and even statistics.
O-Ton,
Florian Westphal, Internationales Komitee vom Roten Kreuz:
ÈWir
haben zwischen Januar und Mai dieses Jahres insgesamt 107 Kinder registriert.
Und zwar wþhrend 19 Besuchen in sechs verschiedenen Haftorten. Dazu muss man
betonen, das sind Haftorte, die wirklich von den Koalitionstruppen kontrolliert
werden.Ç
Im
Internierungslager Um Qasr und auch in Abu Ghraib registrierte das Rote Kreuz
minderjþhrige Gefangene. Zwei internationale Organisationen bestþtigen uns
damit unabhþngig voneinander, dass die Besatzungstruppen irakische Kinder
gefangen halten. Doch an Informationen direkt aus den Gefþngnissen kommen
wir nicht heran. Den Kinderknast in Bagdad durfte nicht einmal UNICEF besuchen.
"We
have recorded a total of 107 children between January and May of this year
in the course of 19 visits to 6 different detention places. And it must be
emphasized that these are detention places that are controlled by coalition
troops."
In
the internment camp Um Qasr and also in Abu Ghraib the Red Cross recorded
minors as prisoners. Two international organizations confirmed to us independently
of each other that the occupation troops are holding Iraqi children prisoner.
Yet we have not received any information directly from the prisons. Even UNICEF was not allowed to visit the child prison in Baghdad.
Zitat:
ÈIm
Juli 2003 beantragte UNICEF einen Besuch in dieser Haftanstalt, aber der Zugang
wurde verweigert.Ç
"In
July 2003 UNICEF applied for a visit to this detention facility, but access
was refused."
Seit
Dezember seien im Kinderknast laut UNICEF Ÿberhaupt keine unabhþngigen Beobachter
mehr gewesen. Zwar šffnete die US-Armee das Skandalgefþngnis Abu Ghraib fŸr
einen Journalistenrundgang. Doch den Reportern wurde eine Vorzeigehaftanstalt
prþsentiert. Gefangene Kinder bekam die Presse nicht gezeigt.
Wir
halten fest: Vier Quellen bestþtigen unabhþngig voneinander, die Besatzungstruppen
halten Kinder als Gefangene fest. Zwei Zeugen berichten sogar Ÿber Misshandlungen.
Die Menschenrechtsorganisation amnesty international ist empšrt Ÿber die Berichte
zu irakischen Kindergefangenen. Barbara Lochbihler von amnesty international
Deutschland fordert Konsequenzen.
Since
December, according to UNICEF, there have been no independent observers in
the children's prison. To be
sure, the U.S. Army opened the scandal-prison Abu Ghraib for a tour for journalists. Yet the reporters were presented with
a for-show facility. Child prisoners were not shown to the press.
We
hold fast to this: four sources confirm independently of one another, that
occupation troops are holding children as prisoners. Two witnesses even report instances of maltreatment. The human rights organization Amnesty
International is outraged over the reports of Iraqi child prisoners. Barbara
Lochbihler of Amnesty International, Germany, calls for follow-up action.
O-Ton,
Barbara Lochbihler, Generalsekretþrin amnesty international:
ÈDie
US-Regierung muss sich natŸrlich zu diesem Bericht þu§ern, sie muss konkrete
Informationen geben, wie alt die Kinder sind, was die HaftgrŸnde sind, unter
welchen Umstþnden sie inhaftiert wurden. Und ob Kinder eben Folter und Misshandlung
ausgesetzt wurden. Und hier wissen wir nicht mai, wie die Kinder hei§en, wie
viele Kinder dort sind. Unabhþngige Inspektionen sind nicht erwŸnscht. Das
ist skandalšs.Ç
"The
U.S. government has to respond to this report, it must give concrete information
about how old the children are, the grounds on which they have been detained,
and under what circumstances they were incarcerated. And here we do not know
the names of the children or how many children are there. That is scandalous."
Abmoderation
Fritz Frey:
Concluding
moderation by Fritz Frey:
Selbstverstþndlich
haben wir die Verantwortlichen mit unseren Recherchen konfrontiert. Das britische
Verteidigungsministerium lie§ mitteilen: Kinder und Jugendliche werden von
britischen Truppen nicht gefangen gehalten. Auf eine Antwort vom amerikanischen
Pentagon warten wir noch immer.
Self-evidently,
we have confronted the responsible authorities with our research. The British Defense Ministry responded:
Children and youth are not being held prisoner by British troops. We are still waiting for an answer from
the American Pentagon.
Links:
Berichte
der Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International zu Irak
Internationales
Komitee vom Roten Kreuz
Das
Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen UNICEF
Links:
Berichte der Menschenrechtsorganisation
Amnesty International zu Irak
Report of the Human
Rights Organization Amnesty Internation in Iraq.
Internationales Komitee
vom Roten Kreuz
International Committee
of the Red Cross.
Das Kinderhilfswerk
der Vereinten Nationen UNICEF
Children's Relief Organization
of the United Nations UNICEF
Moderation:
Fritz Frey
Bericht:
Thomas Reutter
Kamera:
Helmut Meyer
Schnitt:
Zsuzsa Dšme
Exclusive translation
by
Richard Gawthrop.
Compare translation (partial)
at http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/000732.html