'US tortures Iraqi prisoners'

2005-12-28 20:11

Paris - A former prisoner held by the United States military with senior officials of Saddam Hussein's ousted Iraqi regime charged on Wednesday that fellow detainees had been tortured, some of them to death.

Abdel Jabbar al-Kubaisi, a onetime opposition figure who rallied to Saddam's regime shortly before the 2003 invasion, said that during his 16 months in custody, three former Saddam officials had died under questioning, although he had not faced physical torture.

US officials were not immediately available for comment.

Kubaisi was reiterating his accusations published earlier in the day by Jordanian daily, al-Arab Al-Yom.

Interrogation

He named the three detainees he said had died under interrogation as former prime minister Hamzeh al-Zubaidi, former Baath party official Adel al-Duri, and former intelligence commander Waddah al-Sheikh.

He said he had also seen signs of torture on former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan and germ warfare expert Hazem al-Sheikh al-Rawi.

Kubaisi said: "I saw Ramadan trying to stem the flow of blood from his wounds with salt and water."

High-profile prisoners

He said he had been among 38 detainees freed by the US military last week from a facility at Baghdad Airport that had held a total of 103 high-profile prisoners.

He expected further releases to follow, notably of former trade minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh.

Once an official in the ruling Baath party, Kubaisi fled Iraq after an abortive coup attempt against Saddam in the 1970s prompted reprisals against the party's left wing.

He returned from exile in France in early 2003 as the US-led coalition prepared its invasion, which he vigorously opposed.

Polls 'parody of democracy'

Kubaisi said: "The only solution is an end to the occupation and the departure of US troops. The December 15 parliamentary elections are a parody of democracy and have no value."

US officials said they had freed 22 detainees last week after establishing that they no longer posed a threat to Iraqis or the coalition.

The officials didn't identify the prisoners although they were understood to have included germ warfare experts Huda Saleh Mahdi Amash, better known as "Mrs Anthrax", and Rihab Taha, better known as "Dr Germ".

The Iraqi authorities had said they wished to re-arrest both women.

- AFP