Damien M. Corsetti
Encyclopedia
Damien M. Corsetti was a soldier in the United States Army
.
As part of the Army's investigation into prisoner abuse at Bagram, Corsetti was charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, assault and performing an indecent act with another person. PFC Corsetti was later found not guilty of all charges.
At the time Corsetti was a Specialist in the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion
, serving under Lieutenant
Carolyn Wood
.
On May 20, 2005 Tim Golden
of the New York Times published a long article on the Bagram murders based on a 2,000 page classified report to which the Times had gotten access.
This article contained many allegations about Corsetti's role.
According to the New York Times:
Corsetti was charged on October 6, 2005.
According to the National Catholic Reporter
Corsetti's lawyer said:
“The president of the United States doesn’t know what the rules are. The secretary of defense doesn’t know what the rules are. But the government expects this Pfc. to know what the rules are?”
Corsetti's court martial commenced on May 30, 2006.
Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, a brother-in-law of a 9/11 hijacker, claimed to be a victim of Corsetti's abuse, and was able to describe Corsetti's tattoos in detail.
On 1 June 2006, a military jury found PFC Corsetti not guilty of all charges.
The September 14, 2006 issue of the Boston Globe contained an Op-ed from Moazzam Begg
, who described his contact with Corsetti.
Begg described being approached by Corsetti's defense attorneys, to serve as a defense witness. Begg described Corsetti as a friend, who gave him a copy of the classic anti-war novel Catch-22
.
Begg said that Corsetti never abused him, and would stop for friendly conversations with inmates including Omar Khadr
, and that he was one of the friendly GIs who had helped him endure his imprisonment.
However Begg expressed the opinion that while Corsetti's superiors deserved a heavy load of responsibility for the abuses at Bagram and Abu Ghraib, low level soldiers like his friend Corsetti couldn't escape all responsibility if they committed illegal acts.
On 2 October 2006, PFC Corsetti was honorably discharged from the United States Army.
Corsetti consented to appear at a December 5, 2007 preview screening for the film Taxi to the Dark Side
that is critical of the War on Terrorism.
Corsetti's war experience has been summarized by the Spanish journalist Pablo Pardo in the book http://librosdelko.com/2011/el-monstruo-memorias-de-un-interrogador/ El Monstruo ('The Monster'), published in Spain on September 12th, 2011.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
As part of the Army's investigation into prisoner abuse at Bagram, Corsetti was charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, assault and performing an indecent act with another person. PFC Corsetti was later found not guilty of all charges.
At the time Corsetti was a Specialist in the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion
519th Military Intelligence Battalion
The 519th Military Intelligence Battalion is a unit of the United States Army.Personnel of the 519th MI Battalion were alleged to have killed the Afghan detainee Dilawar in custody at Bagram Theater Internment Facility in December 2002....
, serving under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Carolyn Wood
Carolyn Wood
Carolyn Wood, United States Army captain, is a military intelligence officer who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. She was implicated by the Fay Report to have "failed" in several aspects of her command regarding her oversight of interrogators at Abu Ghraib...
.
On May 20, 2005 Tim Golden
Tim Golden
Tim Golden is a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate, representing the 8th District since 1998. He was previously the Democratic Minority Caucus Chairman...
of the New York Times published a long article on the Bagram murders based on a 2,000 page classified report to which the Times had gotten access.
This article contained many allegations about Corsetti's role.
According to the New York Times:
- One of Corsetti's nickname in the unit was "Monster". He had a tattoo across his stomach of the Italian word for Monster.
- Another of Corsetti's nicknames in the unit was "The King of Torture". Corsetti was large and imposing, and was called upon by other interrogators to frighten prisoners using the interrogation technique known as "Fear up, harsh".
- According to one detainee Corsetti's abuse of prisoners included poking bound prisoners in the face with his naked penis and threatening them with sexual assault.
- During his posting to Abu GhraibAbu GhraibThe city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...
Corsetti and two other soldiers were reprimanded.
Corsetti was charged on October 6, 2005.
According to the National Catholic Reporter
National Catholic Reporter
The National Catholic Reporter is the second largest Catholic newspaper in the United States; its circulation reaches ninety-seven countries on six continents. Based in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, NCR was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964 as an independent newspaper focusing on the Catholic Church...
Corsetti's lawyer said:
“The president of the United States doesn’t know what the rules are. The secretary of defense doesn’t know what the rules are. But the government expects this Pfc. to know what the rules are?”
Corsetti's court martial commenced on May 30, 2006.
Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, a brother-in-law of a 9/11 hijacker, claimed to be a victim of Corsetti's abuse, and was able to describe Corsetti's tattoos in detail.
On 1 June 2006, a military jury found PFC Corsetti not guilty of all charges.
The September 14, 2006 issue of the Boston Globe contained an Op-ed from Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...
, who described his contact with Corsetti.
Begg described being approached by Corsetti's defense attorneys, to serve as a defense witness. Begg described Corsetti as a friend, who gave him a copy of the classic anti-war novel Catch-22
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
.
Begg said that Corsetti never abused him, and would stop for friendly conversations with inmates including Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr
Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...
, and that he was one of the friendly GIs who had helped him endure his imprisonment.
However Begg expressed the opinion that while Corsetti's superiors deserved a heavy load of responsibility for the abuses at Bagram and Abu Ghraib, low level soldiers like his friend Corsetti couldn't escape all responsibility if they committed illegal acts.
On 2 October 2006, PFC Corsetti was honorably discharged from the United States Army.
Corsetti consented to appear at a December 5, 2007 preview screening for the film Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, and produced by Eva Orner and Susannah Shipman, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature...
that is critical of the War on Terrorism.
Corsetti's war experience has been summarized by the Spanish journalist Pablo Pardo in the book http://librosdelko.com/2011/el-monstruo-memorias-de-un-interrogador/ El Monstruo ('The Monster'), published in Spain on September 12th, 2011.
See also
- TortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
- Dilawar
- HabibullahHabibullahMullah Habibullah was an Afghan who died while in US custody on December 4, 2002.His death was one of those classed as a homicide, though the initial military statement described his death as due to natural causes.Habibullah's brother was a Taliban leader....
- Glendale C. Walls
- Selena M. SalcedoSelena M. SalcedoSelena M. Salcedo was an United States Army soldier, who pled guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and assault in connection with the abuse of an Afghani prisoner, Dilawar, who later died....
- Joshua ClausJoshua ClausJoshua R. Claus is a former member of the United States Army, whose unit was present at both Iraq's Abu Ghraib and at the Bagram Theater Detention Facility in Afghanistan, and was the first interrogator of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr...