Australians kept Taleban suspects in dog pen
Kristen
Gelineau I AP
3
September 2008 (03 Ramadan 1429)
SYDNEY:
Australia’s defence minister yesterday rejected criticism of the country’s
special forces in Afghanistan after they were accused of detaining suspected
Taleban militants in dog pens — a report that outraged the Muslim community.
Australian
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed yesterday that four suspected
insurgents who were arrested by Special Forces soldiers on April 29 were held
for 24 hours in a compound occasionally used to house dogs.
The
soldiers’ actions prompted strong criticism from the head of Australia’s main
Islamic group, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
“It is
quite appalling that the Australian soldiers are in any way caught up in the
inhumane treatment of human beings — irrespective of who they are,” said
federation president Ikebal Patel. “I think it’s quite despicable that
something like that could happen and that the Australians are party to it.”
The
revelation follows complaints by an Afghan soldier about mistreatment of the
detainees, who were held in southern Uruzgan province following a battle with
Taleban fighters. An Australian Defence Force inquiry last week found that
medical evidence and witness statements did not support allegations of abuse.
Christian
Taubenschlag, a spokesman for Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, said the
minister would not be available to comment further on the incident. But earlier
in the day, Fitzgibbon defended the soldiers’ actions, saying the detainees
were held in the most secure place available before they were transported to a
detention centre in the town of Tarin Kowt.
“Our
people were patrolling far away from our main base in Tarin Kowt near one of
our forward operating bases. They did detain people suspected of the worst and
most atrocious acts. And they detained them in the most practical way available
to them at the time,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Fitzgibbon
said it was misleading to characterize the holding facility as a dog pen.
“They
were in a compound I’ve had described to me as a walled compound which I’m sure
is used for a variety of purposes,” he told ABC. “I’m advised that the compound
is from time to time used to hold dogs, yes. Dogs are a very important part of
our operations there.”
Source:
Arab news