torture: "Same donkey, different saddle".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4066835.stm



Eyewitness: Taking detainee testimony in Iraq

US-led international forces in Iraq are currently holding thousands of Iraqi people suspected of involvement in the violent campaign against the Iraqi government and the occupying forces.

But some detainees complain of arbitrary detention and abusive treatment.

Peggy Gish, 62, is an American woman who has spent 13 months over the past two years logging the cases of Iraqi detainees with the ecumenical humanitarian group Christian Peacemaker Teams.

She told the BBC News website about her experiences.
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We heard about very violent house raids in the middle of the night, in which US soldiers would storm in, and if the men did not get down immediately, they would knock them down and beat them.

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We talked to the US military about those house raids, and though they denied the soldiers would take money or gold, they did not deny that they would go in with 25 seconds of absolute fury and try to bring the people into submission very quickly.

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We also heard about sexual abuse and beatings when they were being questioned. If they did not give information about an explosion or something they would be knocked down, kicked in the groin, and hurt in other ways.

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A common reason for men to be detained is because an informant in the neighbourhood has given their name to US military and claimed that they are part of the resistance.

Informants get money for each name they give, and many people have told us that informants use the system to revenge personal grudges.

They say it is rather like life under Saddam Hussein. Many Iraqis use an Arabic expression, "Same donkey, different saddle".
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