The Independent
By Tony Paterson in Berlin
26 November 2004
German army conscripts broke their silence yesterday over a scandal of widespread physical abuse of soldiers at a military base, and told how they were bound, beaten and subjected to electric shocks by instructors in staged hostage-taking exercises this year.
The scandal, which has provoked comparisons with the torture of Iraqi detainees at the US Army's Abu Ghraib prison, is being investigated by state prosecutors and 16 NCOs have been suspended, although no victim had been prepared to speak out in public.
But yesterday, two soldiers said they were among 80 conscripts subjected to systematic maltreatment at the German army's Coesfeld base near Münster between July and September last year. They told Bild newspaper they were abused during regular hostage-taking exercises in which they were hooded and beaten.
One soldier, identified as Sven G, told Bild he was in a group of 12 recruits on a 20km night march. "Suddenly we were grabbed by masked men who pulled sacks over our heads and bound our limbs," he said. "We had no chance to defend ourselves."
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=586808