'I pray, cry and curse the US'

2004-05-04 14:20

Abu Ghraib, Iraq - US authorities freed some 240 prisoners from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad to waiting relatives on Tuesday, amid continuing tension over the abuse of prisoners by military guards.

At midday, scores clustered around a US soldier who emerged at the dusty perimeter of the sprawling complex to announce the names of those released to a crowd of some 200 people, but most were left disappointed.

The authorities regularly free inmates from Abu Ghraib but some 5 000 so-called "security detainees" remain inside, some of whom have been held since the US-led invasion of the country in March last year which toppled Saddam Hussein.

The publication of pictures of the sexual humiliation and abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib by US guards has sparked bewilderment and fear among Iraqis with friends and relatives in the jail.

Regular releases have failed to mollify those who wait outside, including some who say they have been coming every day for months without getting the chance to see their relatives.

Abu Ghraib, 32 kilometres west of Baghdad, was where thousands of political prisoners were tortured and executed under Saddam. As many as 4 000 prisoners were executed there in 1984.

Despite the huge death toll from Saddam's time and a US investigation that has seen six guards charged with criminal offences and seven officers reprimanded, few outside the jail were convinced that much had changed.

"They are animals, they are not human beings," said Farouk Khalaf, whose three brothers, aged in their 30s, were all being held in Abu Ghraib after being arrested by Iraqi paramilitary forces near Tikrit in February.

"When prisoners were released before, they were too afraid to speak about what had happened in Abu Ghraib. Since these pictures were released, now most are speaking about their ordeals," he said. "When you see them, you just can't stop yourself from crying."

Intisar Ismail, 54, said her husband Salman Nazam was seized by US troops at their home in Baghdad seven months ago. She said they told her he would be held for just four days but she had not seen him since.

"It's possible my husband was one of those who has been abused but what can I do? I can only pray, cry and curse the United States," she said.

Haidar Hassan, whose brother Ahmed, 25, has been held for nearly four months after being arrested near the scene of a roadside bombing, said: "We would rather accept the hell of Saddam and not the heaven of Bush."

- AFP