Sexual Torture by Coalition Troops! This is the source, but EVERY UK newspaper and news program is reporting it right now. Don't want to get into an argument about whether the war is right or wrong, but I just wanted to share this with you guys. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2003250508,00.html My horror at PoW sex abuse pics By JOHN SCOTT and MICHAEL LEA THE young mum who uncovered the Iraqi PoW sex snaps scandal said last night: “I felt sick to the stomach at those pictures.” Kelly Tilford, 22, called police after developing a film in her photo shop. The shocking pictures — revealed by The Sun yesterday — showed male Iraqis apparently forced into sexual positions by their British captors. In another a prisoner was suspended by rope from a fork-lift truck driven by a laughing Brit. Fusilier Gary Bartlam, 18, of Tamworth, Staffs, is being grilled by the Army’s top criminal investigator — amid fears the scandal is the tip of an iceberg. Disgusted Kelly said she knew she had to call police after seeing the horrific scenes in Gulf War II snaps she had just developed. Kelly said: “I immediately realised something terribly wrong had happened and something had to be done about it. “I started shaking and was panicking in case the guy came back before I could raise the alarm.” She spoke out last night as Bartlam, of the 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was in custody. Four snaps on Bartlam’s roll of 25 exposures shocked the mum-of-two. ONE was apparently taken in a warehouse. It showed a man stripped at least to the waist and suspended high in the air by a rope attached to one of the forks on a fork-lift truck. More rope bound him throughout the length of his body. He was hanging horizontally and his frightened face was in close-up. A soldier driving the fork-lift truck could be seen in the background, staring at his victim and apparently laughing. ANOTHER picture showed a pair of white legs and the head of a male Iraqi. The hand of a man behind the Iraqi’s head appeared to be forcing him to perform oral sex. The Iraqi was squatting and again appeared to be at least naked to the waist. The soldier’s face was not visible. A THIRD picture showed a pair of bare backsides. One Iraqi man was on his knees on the floor with his body bent. Another was pressed behind him, tightly moulding his body like a spoon in what seemed to be a sexual position. THE FOURTH snap showed two naked Iraqis cowering on the ground as if thrown there. Kelly, who has children aged two and eight months, said Fusilier Bartlam called at the Max Spielmann photo shop where she works in Tamworth, Staffs, on Wednesday. The young soldier, who was home on leave after the war, left a roll of film to be developed into 7in x 5in prints within an hour. She went on: “I went to the mini-lab. As you put the film through, you are meant to check the pictures on a screen to ensure they are printed properly. “You have never got time to watch all of them, because you are inevitably doing something else. We had been very busy. “I had already processed the films of one or two soldiers back from Iraq and had told them, ‘Congratulations, well done,’ when they came to collect their photos. "But when I started cutting the negatives on this batch, I looked at one and noticed immediately that it seemed a bit strange. I took a closer look. “At first appearance, it had seemed like soldiers having a laugh. “Then I realised it was a half-naked Iraqi being hauled high into the air by a forklift truck while bound hand and foot. “I saw the look on his face. He was petrified. “I will never forget that terrible stare. I immediately thought, ‘That’s not right’. “Then I saw some sexual pictures. One looked like an Iraqi PoW being forced to give a soldier oral sex. I think the Iraqi was naked — you could just see the top half of him and the bottom half of the soldier. “There was also a close-up of the naked backsides of two Iraqis, as if they were simulating anal sex. “Another shot showed two Iraqis lying naked on the ground as if they had just been thrown there. There didn’t seem anything wrong with the other photos. They were just pictures of Iraqi soldiers surrendering — the sort of thing you saw on the TV during the war.” Kelly, who has only worked at the shop for eight weeks, said: “It should have cost the guy £5.99 but he never paid for those pictures in the end. “I was worried and waited for my colleague to come back from lunch. She just took one look and said, ‘Oh my gosh — we have got to call the police’. “We phoned our area manager to tell him what we were doing. “The lad was due back any minute to collect his photos, so we agreed to tell him they were not ready because there was a problem with the machine. “He came back before the police arrived. We told him the machine was not working and it would be another half an hour. Shock ... Kelly spotted photos “As I said that he blushed — as if he knew something was wrong. He stayed in the shop 15 to 20 minutes and I could not bring myself to look at him. “I eventually said, ‘Look, we have got to get a technician out. If you want to call back’. I told him to leave his telephone number so we could call when the film was ready. “He agreed and just as he was leaving, a police sergeant arrived. Fortunately it was a detective in plain clothes, so the soldier was none the wiser. “There was nothing we could do at that stage because he had not seen the pictures. “After the detective saw them, he contacted his office and we rang the soldier to say the film was ready for collection. “When he came into the shop, the sergeant was waiting for him and called out his name. The lad said ‘Yeah’ and confessed to the copper that the pictures were his. “The officer showed him his badge and took him through to the back of the shop. He went straight away. He didn’t struggle or anything. “About half an hour later an unmarked blue car pulled up outside and they took him away. The police then came back later to take a statement from me about what I saw. “The lad was in some of the pictures, but not all of them. “I don’t know which photos he had taken and which had been taken of him, because some were such close-ups you could not see the faces of those involved. Kelly added: “I don’t feel guilty about calling in the police. I know people who have been fighting in Iraq. “I am as proud as anybody of what our forces did out there — but there are rules. Probe ... Sun yesterday “I would not want any of my friends to be treated like those Iraqis on the photographs. We are a great nation. “But we would lose our self-respect and much more besides if we allowed ourselves and our troops to stoop this low.” The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers served in Iraq with the 7th Armoured Brigade, the legendary Desert Rats of World War II fame. The regiment is based in Celle, Germany. Major General Ken Perkins, The Sun’s military adviser, said last night: “This involves a breakdown in discipline going far beyond one or two soldiers. “Individuals might occasionally get away with it unknown to their officers or NCOs. “But there is something very wrong if a number can do it without their superiors knowing or discovering it. “The Army has no place for NCOs and officers who condone such behaviour, or are too weak to prevent it.” The controversy is the latest to hit British troops over their alleged behaviour in the Gulf. Lt Col Tim Collins, former CO of the 1st Royal Irish Regiment, is being investigated over accusations he mistreated Iraqi civilians and PoWs. The Bartlam and Collins inquiries are not connected. DO YOU know Fusilier Gary Bartlam? Call The Sun on 020 7782 4105. We’ll call you straight back. EXCLUSIVE 'More to come' By JOHN KAY THE Army probe into the photos scandal has been stepped up amid fears that a “hornets’ nest” of horror could be unearthed. Lt Col Jeremy Green, commanding officer of the Special Investigations Branch, last night took personal charge of the inquiry. And a source close to the investigation said: “There is a genuine fear that this is not just a scandal involving one 18-year-old Fusilier. “Our biggest worry is that the reputation of 1 Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, will be besmirched.” Fuslier Gary Bartlam, 18, is being held in custody at an Army base where he is being grilled by senior Special Investigation Branch officers. He is unlikely to be released until the probe is completed. One source said that some of the photos appeared to show simulated sex acts but “even if that is so, it would not excuse the behaviour.” A Royal Military Police source said: “We are braced for more scandals to come out — it could become a real hornets’ nest with more horrific revelations. “But we have a duty to investigate thoroughly and no stone will be left unturned. “Whatever the circumstances, there is no excuse for British soldiers to maltreat PoWs. Our first job is to establish how many of the regiment may be involved. “That includes finding out if NCOs and platoon commander knew of these activities.” Lt Col Green immediately widened the probe to cover the entire regiment. A lieutenant who was Bartlam’s platoon commander, plus a sergeant and three corporals, will be quizzed and statements taken from others in Bartlam’s platoon. A senior Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “If there is any truth in these allegations the MoD is appalled and would stress we take our responsibilities to PoWs extremely seriously.”
Couple of questions: Is every UK news outlet reporting that this happened, or that The Sun said this happened? Very different animals. Is the second article from The Sun as well? Not saying that The Sun is incapable of reporting the facts, but I also would take everything coming exclusively from them with a shovel full of salt....if not Salt Peter.
All I can say is that these soldiers are not only irresponsible, immature, perverted, but they are truly a bunch of r****ds. gee... let's develop these torture pics at the neighborhood photomart! I know the Sun is often know for off-the-wall reporting, but they are also one of the most respected "tabloid" in the UK. (they're a different breed here from the National Enquirer types in U.S., they actually report news and are read exclusively by a large segment of the population.) In this case, I cited them because they carried the exclusive, and all other papers are just reporting off them. If you prefer some mainstream press with international clout try these: The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-693314,00.html The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,967527,00.html The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=411052 The International Herald Tribune / New York Times http://www.iht.com/articles/98104.html
What a disgusting idiot, first for being a part of such a thing, 2nd for taking pictures, 3rd for developing them at a neighborhood photolab. Soldier arrested over Iraqi torture photos Embarrassment for army which prided itself on its tolerance Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday May 31, 2003 The Guardian Military police are questioning a British soldier about photographs of alleged "torture" of Iraqi prisoners of war, including one gagged and bound, and dangling in netting from a fork-lift truck. Other photos allegedly show soldiers commiting sex acts in front of captured Iraqis. Photograph developers are understood to have called the police after a film had been handed in to their shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The soldier under arrest, who has not been named, is in the 1st Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Men raping each other and taking pictures? I don't think so, but please tell us more about your frat bigtexxx.
This kind of treatment of prisoners of war is undefendable and due punishment will be carried out against the British soldiers involved..As opposed to the Iraqis who generally murder their pows, dismember them or imprison them for a lifetime of tortuous fun and games. In the case of Pvt. Lynch, they murdered all of those captured with her,,what gastly future had they planned for her?..And do you honestly think all those broken bones were from a traffic accident like the Iraqis said.? And where the hell is Scott Speicher??Are we going to find his body in a hundred pieces?
Our culture does not and should not allow this to happen. The Brits deserve to be punished- end of story. If we don't hold ourselves to a higher standard, then who will be the standard bearers?
Not to be insensitive, but as long as our boys weren't hurt, who cares?? These Iraquis would have done the same if they captured our female soldiers. I admit, the homosexuality is creepy, but as long as the Iraquis suffered and trembled in fear as we did on September 11th, that's all I'm looking for.
1) Who cares? You can't be serious. 2) Female soldiers of ours were captured, and we have yet to hear of any sexual mistreatment. 3) What the hell do captured Iraqi soldiers have to do with 9-11?
Your sudden interest in the American POW/MIA issue is touching. Maybe you are not so anti-american after all, on this issue, most anti-Americans would be more interested in the treatment of Afgan and Iraqi prisoners. But, they would miss it too..
During Gulf War 1, one of our female pilots was sexually assaulted. From the Washington Post- In an even greater shock for public opinion, two U.S. women were taken prisoner by Iraqi troops. Early in the war, Spec. Melissa Rathbun-Nealy became the first female American POW since World War II when she was captured while driving an Army truck in Saudi Arabia near the Kuwaiti border. Later on, then-Maj. Rhonda Cornum, a flight surgeon, was shot down while on a combat search-and-rescue mission over Iraq. Rathbun-Nealy later declined to discuss her experiences as a prisoner, but Cornum made headlines when she disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted. Since Saddam had professional rapists on his payroll, as rape was systemized tool of torture, nobody should be surprised by this.
Oh, God, someone still playing this old fiddle. Yeah, let's see, I'm anti-American because I said that the reasons we were citing for going to war weren't good enough...like the 9-11 connection....or the evidence of WMD...and above all else the fact that the world was telling us that the reasons weren't good enough, that we should wait, and that war should be a very last resort, and after 50 years of holding every other nation in the world to the standard of global approval, we decided that what we wanted goes, even if it's in someone else's country. Yeah, boy, it's clear now that all I was doing was coming up with anything to bash the US. Still, thanks for the anti-American thing. Sort of like a journey down memory lane. It's been a while, and in between I've had people claim that I was never called anti-American at all, so this is refreshing. It's good to know that that side of the argument is still represneted by open-minded people looking for the truth, not jingoistic idiots who confuse flag waving and yes sir'ing to whatever they're told with what being an American is all about.
Ahh..you're talking Gulf War I...I didn't think I missed this happening now. So let's get this straight. According to your version of things, when the UK soldiers do what they are reported to have done to several POWs, you say that it is reprehensible, and that they should be treated as individuals, and dealt with internally, according to the justice system. But when it was done, in the last war, to one person alone, you see that as an indictment of the entire regime. Good to have you back, jh, it's been a while.
MacBeth, the Iraqi regime paid men to rape women. Their ID cards said "Defiler of Women". That is an indictment of the regime. I see you are defending the Iraqi regime for no good reason again. It is good to be back to point out your silliness.
