Danish Officer Accused in Iraq Prison Case

[Barrett808]

Danish Officer Accused in Iraq Prison Case
By JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press Writer

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A Danish army officer was accused Thursday of four counts of negligence for allegedly denying food and water to detainees in Iraq, forcing them to sit in "painful positions" and verbally humiliating them.

The preliminary charges against Capt. Annemette Hommel, 37, stem from alleged incidents between March and June during her tour of duty at a Danish military camp in southern Iraq. Hommel, an intelligence officer, and Col. Henrik Flach, the head of Denmark's 496-soldier deployment in Iraq, were ordered home this week because of the allegations.

The accusations were first reported Monday by the Ekstra Badet newspaper and confirmed by the government.

Military prosecutor Peter Otken said detainees being questioned by Hommel were "forced to sit in stressing and eventually painful positions and maintained with force to stay in these positions." The detainees also were verbally humiliated and denied food and water.

Military prosecutors said they found four separate instances of Hommel mistreating detainees.

But Otken said the abuse was not physical.

"There are no suspicions that they were beaten or kicked," Otken said.

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