22603: (Arthur) Abu Ghraib prison consultant now in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

June 26, 2004 - Radio Jamaica

Abu Ghraib prison consultant now in Haiti

A prison consultant sent last year to reform Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, now
infamous for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, is reportedly now in Haiti, working
on the reform of that country's prison system as well.

Terry Stewart is the former director of Arizona's prison system. During his
tenure, from 1995-2002, the U.S. Justice Department repeatedly scrutinized and
sued the state's Department of Corrections, alleging abuse, particularly of
women.

A 1997 Justice Department suit charged that male prison guards raped,
sodomized and assaulted 14 women.

Female inmates were reportedly made to shower while male guards stood by.

The suit was settled out of court with no guilt admitted, but Arizona agreed
to make major changes in prison policies.

Last week, US Democratic Party Senator, Charles Schumer, called attention to
what he said was Mr. Stewart's checquered past.

In a letter to the Justice Department's Inspector General, on June 2, Senator
Schumer asked how Mr. Stewart, with his troubling history in the United
States corrections system, was selected to oversee the reconstitution of Iraq's
prison system.

Terry Stewart worked in Iraq in May and June 2003, and, according to Senator
Schumer, was later accused of knowingly turning a blind eye to repeated
incidents of sexual abuse by guards against female prisoners.

He said these ranged from sexual assault and rape, to watching female
prisoners undress and use the restroom.

Terry Stewart is now a partner in the private consulting firm, Advanced
Correctional Management. The U.S. State Department hired him to oversee reform of
Haiti's prisons after U.S. troops militarily occupied the country in March.


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See the Haiti Support Group web site:
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Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
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