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Canadian sues U.S. army for alleged torture
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 canât return to his Los Angeles home because U.S. authorities wonât return his green card.Maybe I should sue as well. I just have to come up with a believable story. Oh wait, Iâm thinking out loud again... Posted by: Rafael 2004-05-05 |
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