Summary

TAPE: EF03/0771 IN_TIME: 23:31:23 DURATION: 2:39 SOURCES: APTN RESTRICTIONS: DATELINE: Camp Bucca, near Um Qasr - 27 August 2003 QUALITY AS INCOMING SHOTLIST: 1 US Army officers outside tent (NB not those accused of abusing POWs) 2 Various of army officers entering tent 3 SOUNDBITE: (English) Major Vic Harris, US Army: The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether any of the charges have any merit and to ensure that justice is served So that if anyone did in fact violate any laws that they'll be brought to justice and that's what the investigating officer is doing At the conclusion of his investigation he'll make a recommendation to the command and then the command will decide what to do with his recommendations and that shouldn't happen for at least another month now 4 Compound in desert 5 Officer and tent 6 Officers bringing bench to outside tent then walking in 7 SOUNDBITE: (English) Major Vic Harris, US Army: The recommendation is nonbinding, the commander will make a decision based on the recommendation but it will be an independent decision based on all the evidence that is presented to the commander Very quickly it's important to note that the American military does not care who it is that allegedly violates the laws of war or the Geneva convention If there is a violation we will pursue it, check to see if the allegations are true and then ensure that justice is pursued 8 Female officer and man smoking 9 Officers entering tent 10 SOUNDBITE: (English) Major Vic Harris, US Army: I'd just simply say to the American public that the overwhelming majority of all of our fantastic MPs that guard the Iraqi EPWs (enemy prisoners of war) are doing a great job And any allegations of misconduct are without a doubt an anomaly We don't train our soldiers to abuse prisoners or EPWs, enemy prisoners of war and the overwhelming majority of our MP's are doing a fantastic job serving their country here in Iraq 11 Two US Humvees on road STORYLINE: The United States military opened a hearing on Wednesday into accusations against four US soldiers who allegedly abused Iraqi prisoners of war at a camp in the Iraqi southern port city of Umm Qasr, in May Possible charges include dereliction of duty, assault and maltreatment of prisoners Three of the soldiers also could be charged with making a false official statement and one of them faces possible obstruction of justice counts The accused soldiers - 21 year old Specialist Timothy Canjar, 24 year old Shawna Edmondson, Master Sergeant Lisa Marie Girman, 35 and Staff Sergeant Scott A McKenzie, 38 - were all from the 320 Military Police Battalion The four were part of a unit that was transporting a busload of captives to a prisoner-of-war processing center in Umm Qasr The hearing was being held in a tent set up in Camp Bucca, where the alleged abuse took place Major Vic Harris, a US army spokesman at Camp Bucca, said: The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether any of the charges have any merit and to ensure that justice is served The hearing is the equivalent of a civilian grand jury investigation which will produce a nonbinding recommendation to be forwarded to senior military officials for a final judgment Of the four, Girman and Canjar appeared to be the most affected, both initially looking pale and stared blankly for long periods of times, occasionally looking directly at witnesses facing them across the tent, or glancing at fellow soldiers or officers attending the hearing A government witness, Stephen Stallard, a squad leader of a unit involved in transporting 44 Iraqi prisoners of war on the day of the alleged incident, said in his testimony that Girman told him I think we show the prisoners too much respect Girman is a 14-year Pennsylvania state police veteran In my opinion, he was screaming for his life, Stallard said, recalling the alleged abuse one of the prisoners The case has caused an uproar in Pennsylvania, where the battalion is based The families of the four accused soldiers have enlisted the help of politicians, veterans groups and friends to lobby for support and persuade the military to dismiss the charges The list of charges, obtained by The Associated Press, included kicking and striking Iraqi prisoners of war in the groin, face, abdomen, and head, and holding prisoners and encouraging others to kick them