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Friday, April 30, 2004

Media: 60 Minutes, The New Yorker, show Abu Ghraib abuse photos

Seymour M. Hersh of The New Yorker publishes an article with digital photographs taken by guards of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. The story is subsequently taken up by 60 Minutes II.

The following convictions will result from the subsequent abuse investigations:

  • Jeremy Sivits -- 1 year, discharged from service.
  • Armin Cruz -- 8 months, reduction in rank to private.
  • Ivan Frederick -- 8 years, forfeiture of pay, dishonourable discharge, reduction of rank to private.
  • Megan Ambuhl -- reduction in rank to private, loss of one half month's pay.
  • Charles Graner -- 10 years.
In contrast to the convictions above, no high-ranking officials will be held accountable for what occurred at Abu Ghraib. In fact, a number of them, including those who wrote memos giving advice on avoiding the Geneva Conventions, will be promoted:
  • Donald Rumsfeld will remain Secretary of Defence, claiming that his two offers to resign were refused by President Bush.
  • Jay Bybee, author of the memo published 01 August 2002, will be nominated by Bush to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Michael Chertoff, who gagged Lindh's torture claims and may have assisted Bybee in writing the aforementioned memo, will be nominated by President Bush to the post of Secretary of Homeland Security.
  • Alberto Gonzales, who persuaded the President not to reverse his decision regarding POW status for detainees, will be nominated by President Bush as Attorney General.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Incident: Electric shock, Al Mahmudiya

Today at Al Mahmudiya in Iraq, an Iraqi detainee will be shocked with an electric transformer until he "danced".

This document forms part of the documentation released by various US Government Departments in response to an FOIA court order.