Identifying a torture icon

Military police officers have since told investigators that a CID agent at the prison ordered the mistreatment of this detainee, who was called "Gilligan" by military police. According to a CID spokesman, one CID agent, who has been identified elsewhere as Sgt. Ricardo Romero, was found derelict in his duties in connection with this detainee's treatment.

In an e-mailed statement, Qaissi told Salon Monday night that he remembered another detainee, Saad, who was abused in a similar manner at the same time. "I have seen at least two dreadful pictures showing this horrible experience," Qaissi wrote. "One is me. The other I believe could be Saad because he went before me to the area I had to go, where I was to be interrogated."

CID documents do place a man fitting Qaissi's description -- with a deformed left hand -- in the military intelligence wing at Abu Ghraib on the night that electrical wires were used. According to a statement that Military Police Cpl. Charles Graner Jr. gave CID in April 2005, this detainee was known as "The Claw." In the statement, however, Graner does not allege that "The Claw" was ever abused with electrical wires. The photo archive obtained by Salon contains several photographs of a detainee with "The Claw" scrawled on the front and the back of his jumpsuit. There is one close-up photo of the detainee's deformed left hand.

Other parts of the official CID investigation also differ from the account Qaissi gave to the Times. According to the Times story, Qaissi chokes up when describing a photo that shows Spc. Lynndie England pointing at the genitals of naked detainees. "That's Jalil, Khalil and Abu Khattab. They are all brothers and they are from my neighborhood," Qaissi told the Times.

The CID investigation obtained by Salon listed the full names and aliases of all the detainees present for that night of abuse, which Salon has chosen not to publish. The names do not appear to match Qaissi's description, but it's possible the detainees went by other names as well.

Similarly, Qaissi alleges that a detainee being menaced by a dog in a photo is named Talib. "He is a young Yemeni, a student of the Beaux Arts School." The CID archive of Abu Ghraib abuse photos obtained by Salon shows two episodes of detainees being menaced by dogs. One is described in Army reports as a Syrian, whom the Washington Post has identified as Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy. The other, who was known to military police as "The Iranian," does not have Talib in his name, according to a CID report.

In addition to the question of whether one or two detainees were photographed with electrical wires on his hands, confusion remains over whether the wires were ever connected to a power source. Reports by Maj. Gen. George R. Fay and Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba both claimed that simulated electric wires were used at Abu Ghraib. Military police have also maintained in statements to investigators that the wires were a bluff, intended to terrify the detainee.

"I put the wires on his hand," Spc. Sabrina Harman told investigators, in a description of the man she called "Gilligan." "I was joking with him and told him if he fell off, he would get electrocuted."

In his interview with the Times, Qaissi said that he was shocked five times, "enough for him to bite his tongue."

In an e-mail with Salon, Qaissi said that he would continue to cooperate with reporters in an effort to get a full account of what happened at Abu Ghraib. "I have to tell you that your question adds to the pain I have already suffered, where people have tried to hide or question what I went through," Qaissi said in the e-mail.

But he added that he understood why the questions were being asked. "Your inquiry is great example of democracy where people are free to ask questions," he wrote. "This is what is great about America. Unfortunately, I was denied that in prison."

Update: On Tuesday, the Times published a story responding to Salon's concerns.

Story finder (3 ways to search Salon)

Search terms:

Salon the Web

Salon Directory (browse by topic)