CIA Copy of Excerpt of Human Rights First Report, Command's Responsibility

COS950958

Command's Responsibility

lAPPROVED FOR RELEASE DATE: 06 Sop 2013

Mohammed was apparently apprehended by members · of Navy SEAL Team 7, which was operating with the
CIA, in northern Iraq on or about April2, 2004."' The SEALS then brought Mohammed to an Army base
outSide Mosul.'"' The Navy SEALS wlio interrogated Mohammed subjected him to hooding, sleep
depriva­ tion, and exposure to.extreme temperatures-all . methods that deviate from the techniques
described ·in
the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation FM ·
34-52, but that were approved by the Secretary of Defense for use at Guantanamo,"' and later
authorized in part by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez for use in Iraq."'
· A Pentagon official relates that after an Interrogation,
the SEALS let Mohammed sleep. He never woke up."'

We know very little about Mohammed's last·hours an the military has released even.less information
about
.investigation into his death and charges brought
against those responsible. The most recent press reports indicate that as many as three Navy SEALS
were charged with abusing Mohammed; charges included assault with intent to cause death and seriou
. bodily harm, assault with a dangerous weapon, maltreatment of detainees, obstruction of justice,
and dereliction of duty. Murder or manslaughter charges were not brought, reportedly because of lac
of evidence."' Human Rights First asked the Departmen of Defense on January 26, 2006 for an update
on the status and outcome of any prosecutions in Moham­ med's case; as·of February 10,2006 we had
received no response.

I PROFILE: HOMICIDE

Asphyxia is whathe died from- as in a crucifixion.
Dr. Michael Baden, Chief Forensic PatholOgist, New York State Police, giving his opinion of the
cause of Manadel ai..Jamadi's death114

Manadel al-Jamadi

According to press accounts, Man.adel ai-Jamadl, an . Iraqi citizen of unknown age, was captured
and tortured to death in Abu Ghraib by Navy SEALS and CIA personnel working closely together; he
died on November 4, 2003.'" The SEAL and CIA team that captured ai-Jamadi took turns punching,
kicking and striking him with their rifles after he was detained in a small area in the Navy camp
at Baghdad International Airport known as the "Romper Room.""' A CIA security guard la1 r told CIA
investigators that after ai-Jamadr was stripped and doused with water. a CIA interrogator
threatened him,·saying: "I'm going to barbecue you if you don't tell me the information.""' A Navy
SEAL

shower room where, military police testified, a non-covert CIA interrogator Odentified as Mark
Swanner by The New Yorf to a window about five
'feet from the floor, in a posture known as the "Palestinian hanging," making it

Charles Graner next t
!he corpse o
Manadel ai..Jamad

reported that the CIA interrogator leaned into al-
.Jamadi's chest with his forearm, and found a pressure
point, causing ai-Jamadi to moan in pain."' A govern­
ment report slates that another CIA security guard "recalled a1-Jamadi saying, 'I'm dying. I'm
dying,' translated by the interpreter, to which the interrogator replied, 'I don't care,' and,
'You'll be wishing you were dying.'""'

When ai-Jamadi was taken to Abu Ghraib, he was not entered on the prison rolls - he was a "ghosr
de- . tainee."' The intelligence agents took him to the

impossible for him to kneel or sit without hanging from his arms in pain.'" Less than one hour
later, Swanner summoned guards to re-position ai-Jamadi, claiming the detainee was not
cooperating."' When the guards arrived they found ai-Jamadfs corpse, hooded with a sandbag and with
his arms handcuffed behind his bac and still shackled to the window -which was now above his
head."' According to one of the guards, blood gushed from ai-Jamadi's mouth as the guards released
him and his arms were almost coming out of their sockets."' A CIA supervisor requested that al-.

A Human RiQhls First ReP

COS950958

Jamadi's body be held overnight and stated that he would call Washington about the incident."' The
next morning the "bodywas removed from Abu Ghraib on a Jitter, to make it appear as if he were only
ill, so as not to draw the attention of the Iraqi guards and detain-. ees."'" AI-Jamadi's death
became public during the
.Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse Sl'Sndal, after photographs of prison guards giving the thumbs-up over
his body were 'released.127

U.S. forces did not release ai-Jamadi's body to the . International Committee of the Red Cross
("ICRC") until February 11, 2004,.more than three months after his · death."' The JCRC delivered
the body to Baghdad's mortuary the same day, bu1one expert from Baghdad's main forensic
medico-legal institute said that the refrigeration of al-Jarnadi's body for that period made it
difficult for the Iraqis to establish the real cause of
death by autopsy."' An .autopsy conducted by the U.S. military five days after ai-Jamadi's death
nad found that the cause of death was "Blunt Force Injuries Compli­ cated by
Compromised.Respiration."'" The autopsy repori noted ai-Jamadi had six broken ribs and a gunshot
wound to the spleen."' A medical examiner
wtio later examined the autopsy. report at the request of . a lawyer for one of the SEALS and was
informed of al­ Jamadi's shackling position gave the opinion that the likely cause of his death was
the hanging position.•
rather than beatings inflicted prior to his arrival at Abu Ghraib.'"According to Dr. Michael Baden,
New York State police chiefforenslc pathologist. "asphyxia is what he died from - as in a
crucifixion."'" Dr. Edmund Donahue, the president of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists,
who reviewed the autopsy at the request of National Public Radio, gave a similar ·
opinion, saying: When you combine [the hanging

position] with having a hood over your head .and having the broken ribs, it's fairly clear that
this death was caused by asphyxia because he couldn't breathe properly.""'

During a later court martial proceeding, one Navy SEAL testified that he and his fellow SEALS .were
not trained to deal with Iraqi prisoners."' Although Navy lawyers testified they trained the SEALS
to treat detainees humanely, one SEAL stated: "The briefing Iremember
is that these [prisoners] did not fall under the Geneva
Convention because they were not enemy combat-.
ants.'"t31

Of the 10 Navy personnel - 9 SEALS and one sailor­ accused by Navy prosecutors of being involved in
ai­ Jamadi's death,"' nine were given nonjudicial punish­ ment.'" In contrast to a general court
martial, which is a criminal felony conviction, nonjudicial or administrative punishment is usuallY
imposed by an accused's . commanding officer for minor disciplinary offenses, and does not
include significant jail time."' The only person formally prosecuted in the case was Nav}t SEAL
Lieutenant Andrew K. Ledford, the commander of the SEAL platoon, who was charged with dereliction
of
duty. assault, making a false· statement to investigators,
and conduct unbecoming an officer."' AI court-martial, Ledford was acquitted of all charges.'" The
decision whether to prosecute CIA personnel for possible
.wrongdoing Is pending,"' but government officials have
·indicated that charges are unlikely to be brought.'" The interrogator, Mark Swanner, continues to
work for the CIA."' To date, no U.S. official has been punished criminally In connection Will)
ai-Jamadi's death. Human Rights First asked the Department of Defense on January 26, 2006 the
status of the ai-Jamadi case; as
of February 10, we had received no response.

I PROFILE: HOMICIDE

Nagem Sadoon Hatab

Nagem·sadoon Hatab, a 52-year-old Iraqi, was killed in ·
U.S. custody at a Marine-run temporary holding camp close to Nasiriyah.'" Soon after his arrival at
the camp in June 2003, a number of Marines beat Hatab,'" including allegedly "karate-kicking" him
while he stood handcuffed and hooded.'" A day later, Hatab report- · edly developed severe
diarrhea, and was covered in feces.'" Once U.S. forces discovered his condition, Hatab was stripped
and examined by a medic, who

base commander'.s order, a clerk with no training in handling prisoners d111gged Hatabby his neck
to an outdoor holding area, to make room for a new pris-. oner.150

The clerk later testified to the ease with which he was able to drag the prisoner: Hatab's body,
covered. by sweat and his own feces, slid over the sand."' Hatab MjS then left on the ground,
uncovered and exposed In the heat of the sun. He was found dead sometime after