Reservists convicted for new Iraq abuses

Seven California Army National guardsmen were convicted this week of abuses committed in Iraq during the early part of this year. While military officials have refused to provide detail into the nature of the abuses, it has been widely reported that the abuses including the use of taser guns on temporary detainees. The sentences handed down included imprisonment and hard labor. Other soldiers were merely "disciplined." It seems, failing the leak of the video referred to in this LA Times article, the public will never know what abuses were committed by these soldiers.

But the accusations appear to focus largely on abuse that took place in March at a power plant near Baghdad.

An unknown number of Iraqis were taken into custody there, military officials have said, and were tortured or otherwise mistreated by soldiers.

The Iraqis were believed to be insurgents at the time they were taken into custody, but one member of the battalion, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the incident, said none were insurgents, though several appear to have been common thieves. All but one of the detainees were soon released.

The abuse involved the use of a stun gun on men who were handcuffed. The stun gun was used on at least one man's testicles, the member of the battalion said.

A portion of the abuse was captured on video. A soldier who was not involved in the mistreatment later discovered the footage on a laptop computer and gave it to his commanders.