Sodomizing children, in the name of freedom.

"He was terribly afraid. He had the skinniest arms I've ever seen. He was trembling all over. His wrists were so thin that we couldn't even put handcuffs on him. Right when I saw him for the first time, and took him for interrogation, I felt sorry for him. The interrogation specialists poured water over him and put him into a car. Then they drove with him through the night, and at that time it was very, very cold. Then they smeared him with mud and showed him to his father who was also in custody. They had tried out other interrogation methods on him. But he wasn't to be brought to talk. The interrogation specialists told me, after the father had then seen his son in this state, his heart broke. He wept and promised to tell them everything they wanted to know."

UNICEF Statement on Iraq

GENEVA / NEW YORK, 11 May 2004 - UNICEF is profoundly disturbed by news reports alleging that children may have been among those abused in detention centres and prisons in Iraq. Although the news reports have not been independently substantiated, they are alarming nonetheless.

Any mistreatment, sexual abuse, exploitation or torture of children in detention is a violation of international law - including the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.

The detention or imprisonment of a child must be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. For their safety and protection, children should never be incarcerated with adults, and should have prompt access to legal, medical, emotional and other appropriate assistance. These standards apply in all cases involving children, including those who are considered to be child combatants.

All persons in detention must be treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent dignity as human beings. In particular, States have an obligation to protect children and to ensure that their officials are aware of, trained in, and comply with the relevant international standards.

Where are the prisoners that were abused? Why haven't they been interviewed?

Walter Hinteler wrote:

Another report, by another reporter, from the UK:

Iraq's Child Prisoners

Note: more witnesses to torture of children in jails like Abu Ghraib:

Quote:

Kasim Mehaddi Hilas says he witnessed the rape of a boy prisoner aged about 15 in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets," he said in a statement given to investigators probing prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. "Then, when I heard the screaming I climbed the door … and I saw [the soldier's name is deleted] who was wearing a military uniform." Hilas, who was himself threatened with being sexually assaulted in Abu Graib, then describes in horrific detail how the soldier raped "the little kid".

In another witness statement, passed to the Sunday Herald, former prisoner Thaar Salman Dawod said: "[I saw] two boys naked and they were cuffed together face to face and [a US soldier] was beating them and a group of guards were watching and taking pictures and there was three female soldiers laughing at the prisoners. The prisoners, two of them, were young."

Yep. There were children detained in Iraq. Their are children detained in the US as well. I bet even the Netherlands have children being detained even as we speak.

Past experience will no longer be acceptable as the administration has learned from past mistakes. I want to see that they are still being denied access.

Detentions in Afghanistan and Iraq

In August, the Independent Panel to Review Department of Defense Detention Operations, appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld following the publication of photographs of torture and ill-treatment committed by US personnel in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, reported that since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, about 50,000 people had been detained during US military and security operations.

US forces operated some 25 detention facilities in Afghanistan and 17 in Iraq. Detainees were routinely denied access to lawyers and families. In Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had access only to some detainees in Bagram and Kandahar air bases.