Congressman Conyers Calls Civilian Rape in Iraq "Outrageous"

December 19, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) gave the following statement at the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee Hearing on "Enforcement of Federal Criminal Law to Protect Americans Working for U.S. Contractors in Iraq." Today, former KBR/Halliburton employee Jamie Leigh Jones, testified that she was raped and held captive by her KBR/Halliburton colleagues while serving as a contractor in Iraq.

The Justice Department's response to the committee's request for testimony at today's hearing is linked here. The department declined to send a representative. See also Video Clips from Today's Hearing and testimony submitted by another sexual assault victim, Tracy Barker.

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In my judgment, today’s hearing further illustrates how out of control the law enforcement system is in Iraq today.

The story you will hear today truly shocks the conscience and shows how out of whack our priorities have become. When a brave and public spirited individual working in support of her country in Iraq like Ms. Jones, can be brutally raped by her fellow employees, that is truly outrageous. When the biggest contractor in Iraq, a large and at one time respected firm, can compound and worsen her situation – going as far as to falsely imprison her – as has been alleged, that is a tragedy. And when our own Department of Justice can and does fail to take action while this apparent miscarriage of justice is allowed to fester, that is a public outrage that demands hearings and investigation.

Does anyone in this room feel it is acceptable for an American citizen like Ms. Jones to be drugged, raped, and falsely imprisoned? Does anyone think it is appropriate that almost 2 ½ years after the incident, there has not been a single prosecution in the case? Does anybody believe it is appropriate that the DOJ victims’ rights ombudsman summarily rejected Ms. Jones complaint 6 months ago, and she was not even seen by a federal prosecutor until October? This is no small matter given that there are some 180,000 civilian contractor employees in Iraq, including more than 21,000 Americans, plus additional security contractor employees. And there are other troubling reports of similar sexual assaults against contractor employees.

That is why I am here to tell you that this committee’s investigation will not end today. Simply put, it is unacceptable for our own Department of Justice to refuse to testify today. The letter they sent me last night does not begin to respond to the tragedy and injustice that we are looking at now. The department claims to be committed to law enforcement in Iraq, but 1) they will tell us nothing about what is being done in Ms. Jones’ case; 2) they cannot give us even one example of a prosecution where the victim was a civilian contractor employee in Iraq; and 3) they cannot describe any steps they have taken to ensure that such Americans in Iraq can report crimes by contractor employees there to federal law enforcement and that prompt investigation and prosecution will occur. The American people and this committee have the right to demand justice and accountability, and I intend to see that that is exactly what we get.

Source: House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr.