England’s Confession: Our Job was Fun

U.S. female Private Lynndie England, who has become the symbol of the American torture photos, said on Sunday that those scandalous photos were taken because ‘they were fun’. During her interrogation, England talked a little bit about the torture techniques applied at the prison. The photo of her holding leash that was tied around the neck of a naked Iraqi man sparked outrage the world over during the past week. Her thumbs-up pose has been described as ‘a shameful image’.

21-year old England stated in her deposition that they thought the torture was fun, and for this reason they piled up naked captives and took pictures. England said that abusing the captives was routine and that the soldiers never once felt they were going over the limits.

She went on to say that another private kicked the captives in order to cause open wounds on their bodies. The soldiers also used stitches on wounds that did not require them. According to England, Sergeant Ivan Frederick forced captives to crawl on shards of broken glass.

According to an article in the New York Times, England admitted during her interrogation that she squeezed the throat of a captive to make him run or crawl. The article also says a soldier threw a soccer ball at the sacked head of a captive to scare him.

England was on duty at the 372nd Military Police Unit at Abu Ghraib Prison. She has been sent back to U.S. and a case was opened against her alleging that she mistreated Iraqi captives. If she is found guilty in the military court, she could be court-martialed.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the incidents that took place at the ‘torture center’ ruined Americans and that he apologizes. Also, The Observer, an English newspaper, claims that the torture images from Guantanamo have been classified and demanded their release.