AN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An Army officer who investigated possible abuse at
Guantanamo Bay after some guards purportedly bragged about beating detainees
found no evidence they mistreated the prisoners - although he did not interview
any of the alleged victims, the US military said Wednesday.
Marine Corps Sgt. Heather Cerveny
poses for a photo after talking about the allegations of abuse at
Guantanamo Bay during an interview with the Associated Press at Camp
Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Calif., Oct. 13, 2006. [AP]
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Col. Richard Bassett, the chief
investigator, recommended no disciplinary action against the Navy guards named
by Marine Sgt. Heather Cerveny, who had said that during a conversation in
September they described beating detainees as common practice.
In an affidavit filed to the Pentagon's inspector general, Cerveny - a member
of a detainee's legal defense team - said a group of more than five men who
identified themselves as guards had recounted hitting prisoners. The
conversation allegedly took place at a bar inside the base.
"The evidence did not support any of the allegations of mistreatment or
harassment," the Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees Guantanamo Bay
Naval Base in southeastern Cuba, said in a statement.
Investigators conducted 20 interviews with "suspects and witnesses," the
Southern Command said. Bassett did not interview any detainees, said Jose Ruiz,
a Miami-based command spokesman.
"He talked to all the parties he felt he needed to get information about the
allegations that were made," Ruiz said by telephone from Miami.
Bassett's findings were approved by Adm. James Stavridis, the head of the
Southern Command.
The investigation began on Oct. 13 and was expanded ten days later to include
a similar allegation from a civilian employee who recounted a conversation
between a female guard and a male interrogator, according to the statement.
Following Bassett's recommendations, Stavridis said a "letter of counseling"
should be sent to the female guard who allegedly initiated a "fictitious
account" of detainee abuse.
Bassett also accused Cerveny of filing a false statement during a brief
meeting with her at the Marine base at Camp Pendleton, Calif., her boss, Marine
Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, said last week.
Vokey, who had filed the complaint about possible detainee abuse to the
inspector general's office that included Cerveny's affidavit, could not
immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.