RED CROSS SEES WOUNDS ON IRANIAN DIPLOMAT WHO SAYS HE WAS TORTURED

The BBC reports that Jalal Sharafi, the Iranian diplomat kidnapped several weeks ago in Iraq, shows possible signs of being tortured. The BBC reports that:

"[t]he head of the International Red Cross in Tehran says he saw wounds on [Sharafi] who has alleged that US forces in Iraq tortured him."

"Iranian television has shown pictures of Mr Sharafi receiving treatment in hospital and quotes a doctor's report saying there are signs someone drilled holes in his feet as well as broke his nose, injured his ear and wounded his neck and back."

The U.S. says it had nothing to do with Sharafi's kidnapping. It denies that any U.S. personnel committed acts of torture against Sharafi.

"The United States had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's detention and we welcome his return to Iran," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, last week. He dismissed the claims as "just the latest theatrics of a government trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions". An unnamed US intelligence official also denied any claims of abuse, saying: "The CIA does not conduct or condone torture."

Sharafi's claim is different and harsher than the reports of "harsh" treatment meted out to the 15 British sailors/marines by the Iranians. Mr. Sharafi did not receive a brand new suit, nor did he apparently have the chance to write letters home. Compare Sharafi's treatment to what seems to be the worst treatment suffered by the British sailors at the hands of the Iranians, the "harsh" treatment inflicted upon Arthur Batchelor. The BBC reports:

" . . . Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest of the British sailors to be held captive, told the Daily Mirror about his "nightmare" at the hands of his captors and how he "cried like a baby" in his cell. He told the newspaper: "A guard kept flicking my neck with his index finger and thumb. I thought the worst, we've all seen the videos. I was frozen in terror and just stared into the darkness of my blindfold."