Washington – A military self-examination of allegations that medical personnel mistreated prisoners found a few instances of abuse but no widespread problems, the Army’s surgeon general said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley’s findings were based on surveys and interviews with roughly 1,000 medical personnel who were associated with the care of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He said his survey did not include detainees, the Red Cross or other organizations.
Of the medical personnel surveyed, 32 said they witnessed abuse of prisoners. All but six said they reported the abuse to criminal investigators or their chain of command; the others said the problem was dealt with “on the spot.”
Less than a dozen of the incidents involved possible mistreatment allegedly committed by other medical personnel, Kiley said.
These included medics dropping a stretcher-bound prisoner from too great a height, delaying the administration of pain medication and slapping a violent prisoner, he said.
“The majority of medical personnel did not observe abuse,” Kiley said. “We found no evidence of systemic problems in detainee medical care.”
