Earlier this month, President Obama announced that he would ban the release of photographs showing torture. While Obama said at the time that the pictures were “not particularly sensational,” the London Telegraph reports that “at least one picture” from Abu Ghraib “shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee”:
Maj Gen Taguba, who retired in January 2007, said he supported the President’s decision, adding: “These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency. […]
Among the graphic statements…is that of Kasim Mehaddi Hilas in which he says: “I saw [name of a translator] ******* a kid, his age would be about 15 to 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn’t covered and I saw [name] who was wearing the military uniform, putting his **** in the little kid’s ***…. and the female soldier was taking pictures.” […]
Three detainees, including the alleged victim, refer to the use of a phosphorescent tube in the sexual abuse and another to the use of wire, while the victim also refers to part of a policeman’s “stick” all of which were apparently photographed.
Update:
The Pentagon is disputing the Telegraph’s report. “None of the photos in question depict the images that are described in that article,” a spokesperson says.