Pentagon Refutes Report that Torture Photos Included Rape, Sexual Abuse Images
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Pentagon official refuted claims Thursday that the photographs of alleged prisoner abuse that the Obama administration is not releasing include images of rape and sexual abuse.
Britain's Daily Telegraph published a report claiming that retired Major Gen. Antonio Taguba -- who oversaw the U.S. investigation into the abuses at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison -- said graphic images of rape and torture are among the photos of Iraqi prisoners that the ACLU has sued to have released.
"That news organization has completely mischaracterized the images," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taguba, who reportedly told the newspaper he agreed with Obama's decision not to release the photos, is quoted as saying, "These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.
"I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them," Taguba reportedly told the Telegraph. "The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it."
But Whitman disputed Taguba's account, telling reporters that "none of the photos in question depict the images that are described in that article. I'm not going to go into any detail about the images, as you know it's the subject of some litigation."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Telegraph's article, however, did not make clear to which photos Taguba was referring.
A U.S. military official in Baghdad said, "The photos referred to are ones that Taguba is not aware of." The official spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because he was not authorized to release the information.
The military is referring all questions on the matter to Washington. The Obama administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iraqis called for an investigation into the Daily Telegraph report.
"The Iraqi government must demand the reopening of the Abu Ghraib scandal case again," said Ali Kadom, 45, who works at the Ministry of Transportation.
The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib exploded after photos taken by soldiers appeared in 2004.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the Telegraph, the new photos depicted much more serious abuses than previously documented. One photo reportedly showed an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner and another was said to show a male translator raping a male detainee, the paper reported.
The Telegraph said the photos related to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 at Abu Ghraib and six other prisons. It was not immediately clear from the newspaper report who had seen the photos or how they might have been obtained.
The newspaper said the images in the photos were backed up by statements from Taguba's report into prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.