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Paper accuses U.S. soldiers of raping <NOBR>Iraqi girls</NOBR>
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Tuesday, June 10, 2003 at 09:30 JST
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi newspaper run by Sunni Muslims traded charges Monday with the U.S.-led occupation authority over the alleged rape of two Iraqi girls by U.S. soldiers, a claim denied by the coalition.
According to the daily As-Saah, the girls, aged 14 and 15, were talking to American soldiers in Suwaira, 180 kilometers south of Baghdad, on Friday when the soldiers suggested they accompany them to their camp to take pictures but then collectively raped the pair.
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</NOSCRIPT><!-- FASTCLICK.COM 300x250 Medium Rectangle CODE for japantoday.com --></CENTER>This allegation is "absolutely false," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
"We take any claim of this nature extremely seriously, have looked into the allegations and found nothing whatsoever to substantiate the accusations - including checking local hospital records," it said.
As-Saah said one of the girls died after she was raped by 18 soldiers while the other was killed by her family. Editor Naama Abderrazzak said two of the daily's reporters had talked to residents of the area and seen the bodies of the two girls.
"After conducting a thorough investigation into this supposed account, we know this report is inaccurate, irresponsible, and purposefully attempts to damage the credibility of our forces and our efforts to create a secure and stable environment for the people of Iraq," Centcom said.
But Abderrazzak insisted he had asked his staff to thoroughly check the story and it was definitely true.
"Everyone in Suwairi is aware of this episode and it wouldn't take the Americans long to investigate it," he said.
The Centcom statement charged that As-Saah supported deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party when they were in power and said the newspaper's chairman, Ahmad al-Kubaissy, had "previously called for the unity of Shiite and Sunni Muslims to confront the U.S. presence."
As-Saah began publishing after the U.S.-led coalition ousted Saddam on April 9, but its managing editor Adeeb Shaaban, who has been in U.S. custody for 10 days, was an aide of Saddam's elder son Uday and head of the Iraqi Photographers Union.
"The As-Saah newspaper clearly and blatantly abused its recently attained freedom to report responsibly to the Iraqi people," the Centcom statement said.
"Furthermore, this report contradicts the efforts made by the budding Iraqi media establishment to provide honest, fair, and accurate journalism to the public."
It said coalition forces would "take every step necessary to correct this report and ensure the Iraqi media becomes a credible source of information for the public."
Abderrazzak said he had not been approached by the coalition and had learned of the denial only from the AFP reporter who interviewed him.
"Let the coalition prove that our report is false and I will fire the two journalists (who wrote it). So far, they haven't," he said. (Middle East Online)
This is why Abu Ghraib was so damaging. It lends weight to these allegations regardless of credibility. But some people will never understand.
