Johannesburg

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. Pleasantly warm.

12°C
29°C

7 day forecasts

Abu Ghraib: 'I saw abuse'

2004-10-13 09:17

Paris - A wealthy Iraqi businesswoman said to have been the last female prisoner at Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison said she saw soldiers there abuse other prisoners, the French newspaper Le Monde reported.

Houda Al-Azzawi also said that, while held in another detention center before being transferred to Abu Ghraib, she was beaten, deprived of food and sleep and had her shoulder dislocated by a guard, Le Monde reported on Tuesday. The newspaper did not specify the nationality of the guards alleged to have mistreated her.

Al-Azzawi, 49, was arrested by United States forces on December 22 and accused of financing the Iraqi resistance, the newspaper said. She was initially held in the Adhamiya detention centre, sharing a cell with her sister, who also was arrested along with their three brothers, the newspaper said.

Brother thrown on top of her

One night, the dead naked body of one of the brothers was thrown into the cell, on top of the sister, Nahla, the newspaper said.

"She was panicking. She realised that the body was inert. With my hands cuffed in front of me, I was able to lift up a corner of my blindfold. The naked man was Ayad, my brother, and his face was covered in blood," the newspaper quoted Al-Azzawi as saying.

She continued: "I asked Nahla to bow her head to verify whether his heart was still beating. It wasn't. She spent the night with Ayad's body on her knees."

The newspaper did not specify who allegedly threw the body into the cell. Ayad's death certificate cites coalition forces as saying he died of a heart attack, the causes of which were unknown, the newspaper said.

Al-Azzawi was transferred January 4 to Abu Ghraib, where she was interrogated 30 times, the newspaper quoted her as saying. She said she only learned of the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib after her release on July 19. Le Monde said she was the last woman held at the prison.

Terrified, naked prisoners

The publication in April of photographs showing naked, terrified Iraqi prisoners being abused and humiliated by grinning American guards at Abu Ghraib caused outrage in Iraq and internationally.

"We were all witness to scenes that were similar or worse," Le Monde quoted Al-Azzawi as saying. "I saw men having bottles of water forced into their backsides by soldiers."

Al-Azzawi said, however, that conditions improved after the scandal erupted.

US forces say there are no more women in their custody at Abu Ghraib, but there is a section run by Iraq for ordinary criminals and it is unclear if there are any women there.

- AP

inside news24

Cpt: 13-19°C Light rain late. More clouds than sun. Mild. Pta: 15-31°C More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 12-29°C Mostly sunny. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 12-27°C High level clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 17-25°C Passing showers. More clouds than sun. Mild. PE: 13-23°C Partly sunny. Mild.
7 day forecasts...
Western Cape Eastern Cape Kwazulu Natal Gauteng

Fourways - 19:31:34 PM Traffic lights not working at the William Nicol Drive Interchange More traffic reports...

Here are the winning Lotto numbers from the Saturday, November 7 draw.

18, 24, 25, 31, 35, 42 Bonus 38

Lotto plus: 4, 14, 17, 20, 21, 34 Bonus 3

SMS the word Lotto to 31222 to get lotto numbers sent directly to your phone. The service costs just R10 per month. 
More lotto numbers...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Finance Director

Western Cape - Cape Town
Hire Resolve

Management Accountant

Gauteng - Johannesburg
Network Finance Menlyn
R400,000-450,000 Per Month

Accountant

Mpumalanga
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R250,000-350,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2008 A4 1.8T Multitronics from R 269 000

VOLKSWAGEN

Caddy 1.9 TDi Base MPV Dsl
2009
R 229,000.00

VOLKSWAGEN

Jetta 5 2.0 FSi Sportline
2006
R 169,995.00

VOLKSWAGEN

CitiGolf Chico 1.4 5-dr MY04
2005
R 49,900.00

Property - Find a new home

BELAIRE

Single Residential R5,350,000

CRAIGAVON

Multiple Unit R1,950,000

HERMANUS

Single Residential R4,375,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!