Detainee being escorted by US guards at Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba.
Photo Credit: US Department of Defense. (released)
Pentagon Admits Guantanamo Bay Koran Incidents
BBSNews 2004-06-04 -- Late in the evening on Friday, the Pentagon confirmed five incidents of mishandling the sacred and holy book of the Koran at the US prison facility operated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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Detainee being escorted by US guards at Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba. Photo Credit: US Department of Defense. (released) |
Following a trend of careful information management by the current US administration, the Pentagon released a statement at what is traditionally considered one of the slowest US news cycles, late on a Friday night.
In the terse Pentagon statement by spokesman Lawrence De Rita, the Pentagon said:
"In 31,000 documents covering 28,000 interrogations and countless thousands interactions with detainees, having issued 1,600 Korans, Southcom found 5 incidents of apparent mishandling by guards or interrogators and 15 incidents of mishandling and outright desecration by detainees.
Southcom's policy of Koran handling is obviously serious, respectful, and appropriate. The Hood enquiry confirms that."
Continued scrutiny is anticipated by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Amnesty International and the mainstream media publication Newsweek have recently been under fire by the Bush administration for reporting on alledged abuses at various US operated prisons associated with the current war on terror.