Early Warnings Missed: a Prison-Abuse Timeline

As the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison continues to unfold, a central question remains unanswered: Was the military slow to respond to allegations of prisoner mistreatment? Human rights organizations began collecting evidence of prisoner abuse by coalition forces soon after troops entered Iraq in March 2003, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says it heard reports of abuse as early as last summer and alerted the United States in written reports. Here is how things unfolded.

June-July 2003:

In a June 26 letter to L. Paul Bremer III, head of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, Amnesty International alleged rough handling of recently arrested detainees. The group reiterated its concerns a month later, citing “a number of reports of torture or ill treatment by coalition forces not confined to criminal suspects.” Former prisoners reported “prolonged sleep deprivation; prolonged restraint in painful positions, sometimes combined with exposure to loud music; prolonged hooding and exposure to bright lights.”

October-November 2003

The Army provost marshal, Maj. Gen. Donald Ryder, investigated U.S.-run prisons in Iraq. His still-classified report on the treatment of Iraqi detainees, delivered to the top U.S. field commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, on Nov. 6, reportedly found “potential human rights training and manpower issues systemwide that needed immediate attention.” Although his investigation took place as alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib were escalating, Ryder uncovered “no military police units purposely applying inappropriate confinement practices.”

November-December 2003

According to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, Iraqi human rights minister Abdel Bassat Turki asked Bremer for permission to visit Abu Ghraib to investigate abuse allegations but was turned down. Turki told the newspaper that he also called Bremer in December to complain about poor treatment of female detainees. A Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman has claimed that Bremer learned of the “humiliation” of Iraqi prisoners in January 2004.

January 2004

Christian Peacemaker Teams, a nondenominational activist organization, alleged abuse at coalition prison facilities. The group investigated 72 separate complaints of abuse and ill treatment that allegedly occurred between May and December 2003. Detainees and their friends and families reported crowded, unsanitary detention conditions, severely restricted access to prisoners, and physical and psychological abuse. “Hundreds more cases like these exist; already working at capacity, CPT has turned away Iraqi appeals almost daily,” the group’s written report stated. Members of the group presented their findings to an Army representative Jan. 3 and met with Richard Jones, a Bremer deputy, in late January. Several weeks later, they met with Col. Marc Warren, a legal officer in Sanchez’s command.

On Jan. 13, Army Military Police Spc. Joseph M. Darby alleged prisoner abuse, providing a disc with photographs to a military investigator. The same week, the Army ordered a criminal investigation and an administrative review, and on Jan. 31, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba was named to conduct the review.

February 2004

Prison monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross gave a confidential summary to U.S. officials documenting “brutality,” “physical or psychological coercion” and “excessive and disproportionate use of force” in coalition prisons between March and November 2003. “Since the beginning of the conflict, the ICRC has regularly brought its concerns to the attention of the [coalition forces],” the report noted. “In spite of some improvements in the material conditions of internment, allegations of ill treatment perpetrated by members of the [coalition forces] against persons deprived of their liberty continued to be collected by the ICRC and thus suggested that the use of ill treatment ... went beyond exceptional cases and might be considered as a practice tolerated by the [coalition forces].” A Pentagon official confirmed that the Red Cross had reported abuses to the military police commander at Abu Ghraib after an October visit.

On Feb. 10, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld expressing concerns about the treatment of “security” and criminal detainees. “To date, the United States has provided the public little information on its treatment of these two categories of persons,” wrote Executive Director Kenneth Roth. “This is very troubling, particularly as the United States is seeking to generate support for its policies in Iraq by emphasizing its adherence to the rule of law.”

March 2004

Taguba delivered his report to Army commanders, having documented “sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses.” Sanchez approved the report May 1.

-- Compiled by Michael Soller