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CIA officials used a sledgehammer handle to beat various prisoners in Iraq, and
one official, whose name is classified, would often brag about his abuse of prisoners,
according to testimony in a closed session of a military hearing.
The transcript, obtained this week by The Denver Post under a court order,
was of a March hearing to determine whether three Fort Carson Army soldiers
should stand trial for the death of Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush during
an interrogation in 2003.
Chief Warrant Officer Jefferson Williams and Spec. Jerry Loper face murder
charges in the case.
A third soldier, Sgt. 1st Class William Sommer, has not had final charges approved,
though he also was involved in the March preliminary Article 32 hearing.
Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer waived his hearing but is charged with
murder.
In the March hearing, Sgt. 1st Class Gerold Pratt of the Utah National Guard
said he saw classified personnel use a 15-inch wooden sledgehammer handle to
hit prisoners.
"They'd ask you a question, and if they didn't like it, they'd hit you,"
he said.
"With Chief Welshofer, he'd at least give the detainee a chance to tell
the truth," testified Pratt, who was running logistics at the detention
facility near Qaim dubbed the Blacksmith Hotel.
A CIA spokeswoman, who declined to give her name, would not comment.
While identifying information in the transcript is redacted in most cases,
an exchange between Pratt and a defense attorney show that the CIA was involved.
"To your knowledge, SFC Sommer did not accompany any of these CIA folks?"
Capt. Michael Melito, who was then representing Sommer, asked Pratt.
While allegations about CIA officials and special forces beating
Mowhoush with fists and a rubber hose have been previously reported, the court
transcript is the first evidence that those officials repeatedly beat other detainees
in northwestern Iraq.
In open session during the hearing, Pratt also testified that Williams threw a
heavy box of food at Mowhoush. That testimony resulted in an additional charge
of assault against Williams.
Williams' attorney, William Cassara, disputed the incident with the box and
previously questioned Pratt's credibility. But Cassara said he was sure other
officials were involved in prisoner abuse.
"I have no doubts that other government agencies used methods of interrogation
that were much worse than what Chief Welshofer used," Cassara said.
Later, Pratt testified that the official was mocking the prisoners he was beating.
"Well, particularly after the general was killed. I don't remember the
exact words, but he was mocking the fact that the general died," Pratt
testified.
Williams and Welshofer, through their attorneys, had previously denied any
wrongdoing.
Welshofer's attorney could not be reached for comment.