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| Pentagon to brief Congress on Red Cross reports on prisons in Iraq |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/09/2004 |
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The Pentagon will brief members of Congress on Friday on confidential reports by the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding conditions at U.S. prisons in Iraq. Larry Di Rita, chief spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, told reporters the material will be shared with lawmakers in closed meetings. The information will not be released publicly. "It's something of a stretch of policy and procedures to give them to the Congress," Di Rita said. He said the Red Cross had given its consent to sharing the material with Congress, "but they do get concerned about expanded exposure to these reports because it affects the way they operate around the world, and we're trying to honor that, so we wouldn't release this to the press." The International Committee of the Red Cross is empowered under the 1949 Geneva Conventions to visit prisoners of war and other detainees and make sure the care they are receiving meets international standards. The Red Cross began visiting detainees of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq immediately after the March 2003 invasion, and it has complained privately to U.S. authorities about mistreatment of prisoners. But the complaints were made public only when a written Red Cross report was leaked following publication of photographs showing U.S. guards mistreating and humiliating detainees. |
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