The Justice Department is investigating the death of an Abu Ghraib prison detainee whose body, packed in ice, appears in photos showing two American soldiers posing above him with thumbs up, a US official has said.
The photos show Army Sgt. Charles A. Graner Jr. And Spc. Sabrina Harman, both of whom have already been charged in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal. They were shown first on Wednesday by ABC-TV and yesterday by the Arabic TV station Al-Arabiya.
A US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the dead detainee as Manadel al-Jamadi. The official confirmed that al-Jamadi's death was among those being investigated for possible criminal violations by Justice Department prosecutors.
The detainee, whose badly bruised corpse was in a body bag packed with ice, died in the prison's showers while being interrogated by the CIA or other civilian agents, ABC reported on Wednesday. At least three such CIA cases have been referred by the agency to the Justice Department for prosecution, the official said.
In an account published Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the victim had been brought to the prison with his head covered by an empty sandbag. It said he died in the midst of intensive questioning in the shower by military intelligence officials. After he collapsed, the interrogators removed the bag and then saw severe head wounds that had not been treated.
In an account published Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the victim had been brought to the prison with his head covered by an empty sandbag. It said he died in the midst of intensive questioning in the shower by military intelligence officials. After he collapsed, the interrogators removed the bag and then saw severe head wounds that had not been treated.