Red Cross said it demanded action on prisoner abuse before recent revelations

GENEVA (AP) _ The international Red Cross said Thursday it had repeatedly asked U.S. authorities to take action over prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and that American officials reacted positively before recent revelations about the way detainees were treated.

“The American authorities took very seriously all our recommendations,” said Nada Doumani, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, speaking from Amman, Jordan. The ICRC, which visits prisoners held by coalition authorities in Iraq, had previously refused to comment publicly on conditions at the prison or say whether it had discussed allegations of prisoner abuse with U.S. officials.”We were aware of what was going on, and based on our findings we have repeatedly requested the U.S. authorities to take corrective action,” Doumani told The Associated Press.ICRC officials noted that the United States had been taking steps against some of the people allegedly involved in the abuses of prisoners.Doumani said the ICRC made an initial visit to Abu Ghraib prison last summer, but that it made a thorough report to U.S. officials after its first full-scale check last October.”We are of course aware of the situation since we talk with the detainees privately,” Doumani said.”We get testimony from them.We visit all the premises in this place.We crosscheck information we receive from different detainees.Definitely we were aware of what was going on in Abu Ghraib.”Doumani said ICRC delegates have been visiting the prison, the largest in Iraq, every five or six weeks since October.The most recent visit was March 20, she said.The scandal over treatment of prisoners began when U.S. television network CBS broadcast pictures of smiling American guards with Iraqi prisoners in humiliating positions.That unleashed a huge international outcry.The ICRC is designated by the Geneva Conventions on warfare to visit prisoners of war and other people detained by an occupying power.It traditionally discusses its observations only with the detaining authority so as to retain the trust of officials.But when a situation becomes very public, ICRC officials occasionally will go into some detail about what they have done to explain how they have been working behind the scenes.(NAMPA / AP)The ICRC, which visits prisoners held by coalition authorities in Iraq, had previously refused to comment publicly on conditions at the prison or say whether it had discussed allegations of prisoner abuse with U.S. officials.”We were aware of what was going on, and based on our findings we have repeatedly requested the U.S. authorities to take corrective action,” Doumani told The Associated Press.ICRC officials noted that the United States had been taking steps against some of the people allegedly involved in the abuses of prisoners.Doumani said the ICRC made an initial visit to Abu Ghraib prison last summer, but that it made a thorough report to U.S. officials after its first full-scale check last October.”We are of course aware of the situation since we talk with the detainees privately,” Doumani said.”We get testimony from them.We visit all the premises in this place.We crosscheck information we receive from different detainees.Definitely we were aware of what was going on in Abu Ghraib.”Doumani said ICRC delegates have been visiting the prison, the largest in Iraq, every five or six weeks since October.The most recent visit was March 20, she said.The scandal over treatment of prisoners began when U.S. television network CBS broadcast pictures of smiling American guards with Iraqi prisoners in humiliating positions.That unleashed a huge international outcry.The ICRC is designated by the Geneva Conventions on warfare to visit prisoners of war and other people detained by an occupying power.It traditionally discusses its observations only with the detaining authority so as to retain the trust of officials.But when a situation becomes very public, ICRC officials occasionally will go into some detail about what they have done to explain how they have been working behind the scenes.(NAMPA / AP)