Iraq: 240 detainees released
2004-10-07 12:16
Baghdad - About 240 detainees were released from United States and Iraqi custody on Thursday under a review process set up following the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison, the US military said.
None of those freed were so-called high-value detainees, who are processed separately from the 1 700 "security detainees" at centres at the Abu Ghraib facility near Baghdad and Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, said Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, a military spokesperson.
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 the country and around the world.
A review and release board was set up by coalition forces and the interim Iraqi ministries of justice, human rights and interior. Thursday saw the fourth round of releases since the board convened August 21.
Johnson, an officer with Iraq Detention Operations, said the only two Iraqi women in US custody were not among those freed Thursday since they are considered high-value detainees.
A militant group claiming responsibility for the abduction of British engineer Kenneth Bigley initially demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners at US-controlled prisons - a move US officials ruled out. Two Americans seized with Bigley on September 16 have since been beheaded and grisly footage of the killings was posted on the internet.
- AP