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Texas Woman Says She Was Raped, Imprisoned By Halliburton/KBR
December 11, 2007
This is from the ABC News blotter: “A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.” [ABC News Blotter]
According to 22-year-old Jamie Leigh Jones, she was attacked two years ago by several of her co-workers while living in the Green Zone and working for Halliburton/KBR.
After the attack, she was forced into a shipping container and held as a prisoner for at least 24 hours with no food or water.
Eventually, says Jones, she was able to borrow a cell phone from a sympathetic guard. She called her father and said, “Dad, I’ve been raped. I don’t know what to do. I’m in this container and I’m not able to leave.”
Her father immediately called their congressman, Rep. Ted Poe (R., TX), who contacted the State Department. The State Department sent agents from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, who rescued Jones from the container.
A rape kit was taken, but according to Jones, it “disappeared” after it was given to KBR security officers.
No charges have been brought against the assailants.
Contacted for comment, KBR says it was told to “cease” its internal investigation by the U.S. government, who said they’d take it from here.
Rep. Poe says he can’t get any answers from the State Department or Justice Department on the status of the investigation. ABC News was unable to confirm that either the Justice Department or the State Department was even investigating.
KBR, in the meantime, wants the claim to be heard privately, by an arbitrator. That means no public record, no transcript, no judge, and no jury.
ABC reminds readers that “In recent testimony before Congress, employment lawyer Cathy Ventrell-Monsees said that Halliburton won more than 80 percent of arbitration proceedings brought against it.”
The Blackwater Context: The problem is, thanks to giant loopholes, contractors in Iraq are effectively outside United States law.
ABC News is continuing to look into the case as part of an ongoing “20/20” investigation.
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Bologna. A rape kit would not simply be “turned over” the records would exist in the military hospital. This story will get blown apart soon. Just Wait.
— J Haris - Dec 11, 11:25 AM - #