Torture on Trial - HRF Observes Court Martial of Army Officer Accused in Death of Iraqi Major General

Human Rights First will observe the Fort Carson, Colorado, trial of Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer, charged with the murder of Iraqi Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush, who died after being forced inside a sleeping bag during interrogation.

Marc Kusnetz is a consultant to Human Rights First and a freelance journalist. He was a producer at NBC News for twenty-six years.

David Danzig is the manager of Human Rights First's "End Torture Now" campaign.

Preview

January 13, 2006

Twenty-six months after the torture and death of an Iraqi Major General detained by U.S. forces in Iraq, the court martial of an Army officer charged in the case begins Monday at Fort Carson, Colorado. Human Rights First will be attending the proceedings and posting observations.

Although there have been a number of courts-martial of U.S. military personnel accused of abuse and torture since the revelations at Abu Ghraib in the spring of 2004, this is one of the few in which an Army officer holding a rank higher than that of NCO has been brought to trial on murder charges.

Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer does not contest some of the basic facts of the case. He acknowledges that on November 26, 2003, he forced the victim, 56-year-old Abed Hamed Mowhoush, into a sleeping bag and tied a cord around Mowhoush’s torso during interrogation at a detention facility near the Syrian border in western Iraq. The Iraqi general reportedly became unresponsive while inside the sleeping bag, medical help was sought and applied, but despite these efforts, Mowhoush died moments later.

A statement released by the Army just hours after Mowhoush’s death said, in part: “A surgeon responded within five minutes to continue advanced cardiac life support techniques, but they were ineffective. According to the on-site surgeon it appeared Mowhoush died of natural causes.”

However, an autopsy performed six days later listed “homicide” as the manner of death. The autopsy listed as the cause of death “asphyxiation due to smothering and chest compression,” and noted that “the details surrounding the circumstances at the time of death are classified.”

The defense may claim that Welshofer believed, and had good reason to believe, that the interrogation techniques he employed were authorized by his superiors. By its nature, that claim would direct attention toward the chain of command. In a statement last spring, Welshofer said: “I am not a murderer. I did not torture anyone. I used what I believed were approved techniques.”

Indeed, Welshofer had raised this point much earlier than last spring. In February 2004, long before he was charged, he wrote a rebuttal to a “Letter of Reprimand” he had received in connection with the death of Mowhoush. Welshofer’s letter was made available to Human Rights First by the Denver Post, which has been following the case for more than two years. In it, Welshofer writes: “In my attempt to gather intelligence to protect the lives of soldiers, I used stress positions that included kneeling, standing, and placing the detainee in a close confinement stress position that I considered acceptable…The ‘sleeping bag technique’ is a stress position I considered authorized by CJTF-7 in their memo ‘CJTF-7 Interrogation and Counter Resistance Policy.’” (CJTF stands for “Coalition Joint Task Force.”) Welshofer went on to say: “I do not believe I ever operated outside acceptable methods of intelligence collection.”

The defense may also argue that General Mowhoush had sustained severe injuries before Welshofer put him in the sleeping bag, and that the injuries appeared to be caused by repeated beatings, which could have contributed to the prisoner’s death. In support, the defense could cite the autopsy report, which lists seven broken ribs and at least forty-seven purple contusions on Mowhoush’s head, torso, arms, and legs, some of them thirteen inches long.

Welshofer himself, in his rebuttal letter of February, 2004, said he had not had any role in the injuries. He wrote: “I did not beat the General…However, I am aware that the General’s body had bruises indicating he had been severely beaten during interrogation. Members of ODA and OGA were involved in this interrogation.” (The reference to “ODA” is likely to Operational Detachment Alpha, a Special Forces group OGA is generally understood to stand for Other Government Agencies, reference to the CIA and other intelligence-related groups.) The beatings allegedly conducted by other personnel could have included the CIA, U.S. Special Forces, or CIA-trained Iraqi para-militaries known as Scorpions.

In all, the defense and prosecution will likely call dozens of witnesses, some of them eye-witnesses who were present during the 16 days General Mowhoush was detained.

Not called, however, and never contacted by any U.S. military or civilian authorities, are the four sons of General Mowhoush, the youngest of whom was an eyewitness to his father’s condition shortly before Mowhoush died.

Human Rights First has been in regular contact with the oldest and youngest of the four brothers since mid-2005. They say that they and their two brothers were taken into custody several days before their father was detained, and were held at various facilities for up to six months. They say that no charges were ever brought against any of them; nor, upon their release, were they told why they had been held for months after their father’s death. They believe that they were of no interest to the American forces, and were used -- successfully -- as bait to lure their father.

As recently as last summer, the Mowhoush sons say they were unaware of any charges or developments connected to their father’s death, despite their repeated requests for information from U.S. authorities during the past two years.

“We have not heard anything from them about anything,” said Muhammad, who says he was sixteen when he was detained, brought before his already-bruised father, and subjected to a mock execution that, Muhammad believes, left the General convinced his youngest son had been executed.

“We just know from you that there is a trial,” Muhammad told Human Rights First. “Even the name of the soldier I did not know until you told me.”

The court-martial is scheduled to begin Monday morning.

—Marc Kusnetz