Reuters staff abused by US troops

US forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention las...

US forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January at Forward Operating Base Volturno, near Fallujah. The three — Baghdad-based cameraman Salem Ureibi, Fallujah-based freelance TV journalist Ahmad Mohammad Hussein Al-Badrani and driver Sattar Jabar Al-Badrani — told Reuters of the ordeal after their release on January 5, but decided to make it public when the US military said there was no evidence they had been abused, and after the exposure of abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

They said they were forced to insert a finger into their anus and then lick it, and were forced to put shoes in their mouths, particularly humiliating in Arab culture.

All three said they were forced to make demeaning gestures as soldiers laughed, taunted them and took photographs. ‘‘When I saw the Abu Ghraib photographs, I wept,’’ Ureibi said on Tuesday.

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Ureibi said soldiers told him they wanted to have sex with him, and he was afraid he would be raped.The US military, in a report issued before the Abu Ghraib abuse became public, said there was no evidence the Reuters staff had been tortured or abused. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq, said in a letter to Reuters on Monday but dated March 5 that he was confident the investigation was ‘‘thorough and objective’’ and its findings were sound. The US military never interviewed the three for its investigation.

Asked for comment on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: ‘‘There are a number of lines of inquiry under way with respect to prison operations in Iraq. If during the course of any inquiry, the commander believes it is appropriate to review an aspect of detention, he has the authority to do so.’’ — (Reuters)

Amid India’s push to extradite Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, British officials visit Tihar jail to inspect conditions

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A team from the British CPS visited Tihar jail to inspect inmate conditions and security, amidst India's efforts to extradite fugitives Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Sanjay Bhandari from the UK. They discussed setting up a specialized enclosure for high-profile prisoners and addressed concerns about violence within the jail. As of 2024, India has made 178 extradition requests to various countries.

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