Prisoner abuse scandal continues

In a twist on the offensive photography that inflamed the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, a separate group of US soldiers in Iraq shot a vi...

In a twist on the offensive photography that inflamed the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, a separate group of US soldiers in Iraq shot a video of themselves beating prisoners and using the body of a dead Iraqi to ‘‘wave hello’’, according to documents released on Friday.

The digital video disc, which soldiers titled ‘‘Ramadi Madness,’’ prompted an internal Army investigation of the Florida National Guard troops from West Palm Beach who were involved. The video was brought to the attention of Army supervisors by a civilian public affairs employee in Florida who expressed disgust after viewing the scenes of soldiers reveling among beaten and dead Iraqi combatants.

The internal investigation determined that the footage ‘‘contained inappropriate rather than criminal behavior,’’ according to military records. Investigators later determined that the DVD was destroyed by an officer who learned of the internal investigation. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), no criminal charges were ever filed.

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The investigation was among thousands of new pages of military documents the ACLU obtained in a lawsuit seeking information on detention practices. The ACLU issued descriptions of the documents.

According to the files, the DVD was a recording of Florida National Guard activities in Iraq between 2003 and 2004. The scenes included shots of soldiers kicking a prisoner wearing plastic handcuffs who was on the ground and moaning after apparently being shot in the abdomen. He had been shot after allegedly wielding a gun against American soldiers during a raid, the Army documents said.

Another scene showed a soldier trying to wave the hand of a dead Iraqi at the camera after the Iraqi had been shot to death in a truck at a US checkpoint. The soldier told investigators he was only repositioning the body because there was concern over a possible missile inside the truck. —LAT-WP

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