UK captives tell of ill treatment (BBC)

[Eugene]

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Friday, 6 April 2007, 14:37 GMT 15:37 UK

UK captives tell of ill treatment

Royal Navy personnel seized by Iran were blindfolded, bound and held
in isolation during their 13 days in captivity, the crew have said.

They were also subject to random interrogation and rough handling, and
faced constant psychological pressure.

In a joint statement the crew also stressed that they were inside Iraqi
waters at the time of the capture.

Royal Marine Captain Chris Air said it became apparent that opposing
their captors was "not an option."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6533069.stm

[snappyturtle]

1. All I can say: The captives surely were good actors! n/t

[ShortnFiery]

2. But they said verbatim (check the script): "We were treated humanely." Is this media spin?

Plus, were they TORTURED? NO!
Were they threatened physically or were mock executions staged? NO!

They were separated and fed disinformation and an outright lie (the other sailors and marines are home) to Faye Turney for four days. That's quite typical and IMO, GOOD POW treatment.

Now, let's discuss GITMO before we act all self-righteous.

How dare Iran SPIN these captured troops for their own Propaganda purposes!?! :eyes:

What hypocrites Bush and Blair are when almost EVERY DAMN THING they do or say is exactly scripted and FED to a compliant lapdog M$M.

[HereSince1628]

3. What? No mention of dog leashes or piles of naked bodies?

No fake menstrual blood? No nickers on their heads?

Shucks. I thought there was a prisoner abuse story here.

:sarcasm:

[ShortnFiery]

4. The LT said that he made the command decision that fighting

back would kill a lot of people and create an international incident, therefore they stood down.

IMO that was a highly intelligent split second decision that IMO both Blair and Bush were NOT counting on. I bet they were pissed that there was not a skirmish nor stupid (Dee Dee Dee - if you're being held captive, it's wise to not piss off your captors) while they were being held. They teach you (resistance to interrogation) EXACTLY what these Brit troops attested to in the conference, i.e., qualify your statements and if the information is not classified or sensitive, then admit to it in order to stave off further coercion.

I'm proud of the intelligence and sound judgment of these sailors and marines. :applause:

Thank Goodness that this incident does NOT give our Idiot King an excuse to mini-nuke the hell out of Iran. :-) :hi:

[HereSince1628]

8. The ironic lede could be Iranians treat prisoners better than the US.

We are not in a position to know the truth. We are never going to be told the truth. We'll never know where the British were or weren't. The UK will deny every report that contradicts their story that there was no border incursion. The UK will never admit it put the returned personnel under psychological pressure to make statements.

That's just the way it works; plausible deniability is enough. Keep the truth in doubt, and keep the game going.

I'm glad the UK has its personnel back. I'm certain their families are. But it's only a matter of time until someone misunderestimates how much tension it takes to trip a trigger or toggle a switch.

[Ezana]

5. Why are they reading what they have gone through - It seems that they are given what to say

Why are the ex-prisners reading from a paper ? Can you not see some spinning here ? Is not what they say today opposite to what one of the prisoners say on arrival at London ? He said that he has nothing to take back from what he had said while he was in Iran.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi Ezana!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[cassiepriam]

6. Sounds like a picnic compared to how the US treats its prisoners.

[originalpckelly]

7. Sounds like GITMO, only GITMO is even worse.

So we're treating captured people even worse than the Iranians are. That's pretty fucking disgusting.

Of course I just hate America like all liberals and I'm just trying to blame us first for the world's problems, because quite frankly just because we're apart of the world doesn't mean we do anything to contribute to those problems.

However, I would like to remind the conservatives who might ever read this that you're killing America by allowing this kind of treatment. I think that's far more anti-American that standing up for our most sacred principles.

[walldude]

10. Amazing how low our standards have gotten

So much for holding the high moral ground.