AMY GOODMAN: You talked about the chain of command in the case of Welshofer. Do you think that they laid off him? I mean, I understand at the end, when the sentence was announced, that he would not serve time in jail, that there was a applause among the military in the courtroom. Do you think part of the deal was that he was pointing the finger upward as his defense, and this was the quid pro quo?

DAVID DANZIG: Right. Well, it's impossible to know what was in the jury's minds. Military law prevents the jury from explaining their decision in any way. But, as an observer, my own subjective opinion, and I think it was shared by most of the people who were in the courtroom, is that that was one of the most compelling parts of his defense. That this was a soldier who had received instructions. For example, he received an instruction from a captain, who was detailed to a very senior commander in Iraq, that said, “Gentlemen, lives are being lost. It's time to” -- quote -- "take the gloves off with the detainees." And the sense then, from the interrogators, if you're someone out in the field, is that people are dying if you're not aggressive with the people who you're meant to interrogate.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And could you place this incident, in terms of the various scandals? When did this occur in Iraq? It was in Iraq that it occurred, right?

DAVID DANZIG: Right.

JUAN GONZALEZ: When did it occur, for instance, in comparison to the Abu Ghraib revelations or the other abuse revelations that have come out?

DAVID DANZIG: Right. This detainee, General Mowhoush, turned himself in to American authorities on November 10, 2003. He was dead on November 26, 2003, which in some way suggests that it was happening around the same time that Abu Ghraib was, but, obviously, we didn't learn about Abu Ghraib until later.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And this would have been before Saddam Hussein had been captured, right, because I think he was captured around December of that year?

DAVID DANZIG: Sounds right.

AMY GOODMAN: So he turned himself in, and four days later he was dead?

DAVID DANZIG: Sixteen days later. Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Teresa Grady, we're going to end with you. You face your sentence tomorrow. Did -- the other people you protested with, are they already in jail?

TERESA GRADY: They are. And, actually, Peter's sentence is eight months, so that would be considered the longest, and the judge was lenient with him because of family -- illness in his family, and Peter happens to be the health proxy. And so, for that reason, he was lenient and gave four of those eight months in a facility that he could go in and out of.

AMY GOODMAN: He's taking care of a family member who has cancer?

TERESA GRADY: Yes, his brother.

AMY GOODMAN: So, when you're sentenced tomorrow, you will go directly to jail?

TERESA GRADY: I will.

AMY GOODMAN: Is this worth it?

TERESA GRADY: It is absolutely worth it, Amy. I – We watched the film -- it was about the invasion of Fallujah and the destruction of the city, and I was so moved to see how criminal the behavior is of our government, to think that this is okay to treat people's lives this way. And, as I said to my sister as we were being arrested on that day of March 17, if this is the other side of the law from George Bush, then it's the right side of the law. I just want to say that in terms of comparison between that -- this trial with Chief Welshofer, I see that there's consistency in that there's the lack of information in the courts. The truth is not being told, and international law is not being upheld and applied to our own citizens, and this is a grave breach of our Constitution as we see in Article VI, Section 2.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Teresa Grady and David Danzig, we thank you very much for being with us. David Danzig of Human Rights First. Teresa Grady, one of the St. Patrick's Four, who will most likely go to prison tomorrow.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

Be first to comment this article

Write Comment

Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Homepage
Title:
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4