Blocked Torture Photos Show Sexual Abuse: Report

The torture pictures that President Obama blocked from release last month are reported to include images of rape and sexual abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, according to the British paper The Daily Telegraph

At least one photo shows an American soldier raping a female prisoner, the paper reports, and another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

The details about the photos come from a 2004 report from Major General Antonio Taguba, a former officer who conducted an inquiry into the infamous Iraqi prison.

“These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency,” Taguba told the Telegraph. “I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them, and British troops who are trying to build security in Afghanistan.

“The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”

Some other notable images among the embargoed photos include sexual assaults with objects including a truncheon, a wire and a phosphorescent tube.

In May, Obama changed course and announced that he would move to block the release of the photo, saying the photos had already served their purpose in the investigations of "a small number of individuals." Those cases were all concluded by 2004, and the president said, "The individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken."

"This is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action," Obama said of the photos. "In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger."

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