US Senate condemns abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers

The US Senate on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers and apologizing to the victims.

The resolution, approved by the Senate unanimously, said US soldiers found guilty of abuse would be brought to justice for their actions.

The Senate "condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable acts at Abu Ghraib prison and joins with the president in expressing apology for the humiliation suffered by the prisoners in Iraq and their families," the resolution said.

The resolution, which called for a full probe into the abuses, urged the US government to take measures to prevent such acts from happening in the future.

The House of Representatives approved a similar resolution last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Antonio Taguba, author of a 53-page Army report critical of the "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuse" of some Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

The committee, along with its House counterpart, heard testimony last week from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers and others over the abuse scandal.

Top Democrat and Republican lawmakers were meeting on Monday todiscuss whether and how to release to Congress digital video clipsand about 100 additional pictures of the abuse.

Photographs of naked, hooded Iraqi prisoners being sexually humiliated stirred anger at home and abroad, which prompted US President George W. Bush to publicly declare he was sorry for their treatment.

Reports said top Senate leaders were considering whether to allow all 100 senators to view the photos and video, along with annexed sections of the Taguba report, and whether to recommend that the administration make the material public.

Source: Xinhua