CBC wrote:PORTLAND, ORE. - A Canadian man who was taken prisoner by American forces in Iraq last year is suing the U.S. army for $350,000 US because he claims he was tortured.
Hossam Shaltout, 57, says he was taken to the Camp Bucca detention centre shortly after the invasion began in March 2003. There, he claims to have been beaten, and saw other prisoners being abused.
Born in Egypt, Shaltout moved to Canada in 1971 and became a citizen. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he has a business distributing U.S.-made global positioning devices in Saudi Arabia.
When he was released by the army, he was taken to Egypt, he claims.
His lawyer, Thomas Nelson of Portland, Ore., said a suit detailing the allegations was filed with U.S. Army Claims Office on April 30.
In his statement of claim, Shaltout says he went to Iraq to work for a group called Rights and Freedom International. He claims he was arrested on April 9, 2003 and accused of being a speech writer for Saddam Hussein.
He says he was beaten after protesting his arrest, and more than $100,000 taken from his hotel room was never returned.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Shaltout said he was abused less than Iraqis in the same detention centre.
"They did unspeakable things to Iraqis," he said in a telephone interview from Saudi Arabia.
Shaltout says he can't return to his Los Angeles home because U.S. authorities won't return his green card.
The U.S. military is already reeling from a scandal of prisoners being abused in Iraq.
Photographs emerged last week showing prisoners being abused and humiliated at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.
U.S. President George W. Bush has told the military to investigate all the allegations of prisoners being abused.
Written by CBC News Online staff
The fact that this one is sueing the US Army for what happened leads me to believe that it's false and he just wants a pay out.
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A week ago I would have called this BS without hesitation but after recent events I'm not so sure. It could easily just be a guy looking for a payout, but certainly it should be investigated.
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I'm studying for the CPA exam. Have a nice summer, and if you're down just sit back and realize that Joe is off somewhere, doing much worse than you are.
The fact that he's doing this so shortly after the press release of iraqis being tortured, and didn't bother coming forth as soon as he could makes his statements suspicious at best. it's effectively the same as some famous celebrity being accused of rape and then suddenly a bunch of other victims popping out of the woodworks and wanting to sue too.
"It's you Americans. There's something about nipples you hate. If this were Germany, we'd be romping around naked on the stage here."
Joe wrote:A week ago I would have called this BS without hesitation but after recent events I'm not so sure. It could easily just be a guy looking for a payout, but certainly it should be investigated.
I'm calling BS as well. The timing of this charge is just too convenient. I tend not to believe in coincidences unless I have proof beyond reasonable doubt that they are in fact coincidences.
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Jesus people, what the fuck is the matter with you? You casually claim this article is BS huh? Got any evidence to support that assumption? Of course not since the article is extremely vague about the circumstances. It may be bullshit, it may not, but you people talk like you have some sort of understanding of the facts where none are availible.
Until i see evidence it's bullshit, i think it should be counted as a true event. And an investigation would both clear up any ambiguity and, if it is true, uncover the culprits. So i say, look into it, and then we'll decide if it's bullshit.
18-Till-I-Die wrote:Until i see evidence it's bullshit, i think it should be counted as a true event. And an investigation would both clear up any ambiguity and, if it is true, uncover the culprits. So i say, look into it, and then we'll decide if it's bullshit.
The burden of proof is on the accuser to demonstrate that anything happened. Is that too complicated a concept for you?
18-Till-I-Die wrote:Until i see evidence it's bullshit, i think it should be counted as a true event. And an investigation would both clear up any ambiguity and, if it is true, uncover the culprits. So i say, look into it, and then we'll decide if it's bullshit.
The burden of proof is on the accuser to demonstrate that anything happened. Is that too complicated a concept for you?
Thats why i said, investigate it. If there is no evidence, then screw the fucker. He shouldnt have tried to con the army. If there is evidence, then take action to make amends. Two or three peopel looking into it wont waste any time or money at all.
