Iraqi captive tells of jail ordeal

Haydar Sabbar Ali says he was among a group of captives photographed naked in Baghdad’s notorious Abu Ghraib jail.

The photos surfaced last week, outraging Iraqis and embarrassing President George W. Bush’s administration.

Six MPs, all army reservists, have been charged with criminal acts and face courts martial over the incidents.


Ali told CNN that he had his clothes cut off with a knife. “We are Muslims. We don’t go naked in front of our families,” he said. “But there we were, naked in front of American women and men.”

The CNN report quoted Ali as saying this treatment went on for about four hours as punishment for beating a fellow prisoner suspected of spying for the Americans.

He also said guards “hit you hard in sensitive places, in the kidney, in the chest, in the throat”.

Ali claimed the prisoners’ bodies were covered in bruises. “They didn’t let us out of the cells until all our wounds had healed,” the report said.