The U.S. military Friday released the details of five incidents in which guards mishandled the Koran at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
An investigation by the base commander, Brigadier General Jay Hood, said the incidents included a prison guard splashing a Koran inadvertently with urine, an interrogator stepping on the holy book, and an obscenity written on the inside cover of a Koran.The U.S. military noted that more than 1,600 Korans have been given to detainees, and guards are told to avoid touching the holy books if possible. General Hood says the investigation found that mishandling the Koran was rare, and never condoned.
The military said again Friday that there is no evidence that U.S. guards or interrogators ever flushed a Koran down the toilet, as Newsweek reported in a story that the magazine has since retracted. The report sparked ant-American protests in several Islamic countries.
